The past you left behind
by Lariee
Summary: 6 years after the series ended the world is not faced with a greater danger threatening to kill both worlds. They key to salvation is Yukina's lost childhood friend who disappeared more than 10 years ago. He ruined her life then and now He is forced to face his past and fight for something he never thought he would need: Love and forgiveness. Hiei x OC.
1. The girl with the ice maiden stone

**Author note: **Hi everyone this is my first story ever written and the first one I write in English. I would really appreciate your reviews and constructive criticism since I want to improve myself.

_The main plot_ of this story is focused on two people with completely different values, but with a similarly hard past that affects their decisions and the way they interact with each other and with the rest of the people. On the fond of a crisis that arises in all three worlds, their relationship will develop towards friendship and love, while both of them learn how to overcome their deepest fears and how to understand the lessons of their past.

**Warnings!** -The following story is rated M for a reason. The story tries to depict and accurate description of the demon world and it will contain violence( the physical and emotional kind) , rape and sexual references, bad language( infrequent) and hints related to torture and people dying (unlikely to be anything to specific ). Although I am not a big fan of the bloody and gory kind of violence, there will still be some dark chapters were our heroes will have to face inescapable situations and overcome their limits.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu hakusho.**

******Note:**The chapter below has been recently corrected and revised. Please do not read it unless you fully understand the warning I have posted.

* * *

**Prologue - the girl with the ice maiden stone **

She was running in the forest with no direction trying to escape whatever was following her. The night was dark. There was no moon on the sky of Makai and the air was so hard to breathe that it was hurting her lungs. He was getting closer and closer. She knew he was toying with her. She was a human after all. She had a bit of power and was faster that an average human girl but not compared to a demon. Her long dress was bothering her and she regretted she did not change in something comfortable when she had the chance. But now it was too late for thinking back. She stopped breathing heavily as he was in front of her looking pleased at her scared face as she was stepping back slowly until her back touched a tree. She was cornered.

"Please… " her voice came like a trembled whisper. The girl was terrified. He looked more human than any demon she has seen in this world but that sadistic smile on his face told her she was no match for him.

The demon looked at her with disgust pointing his sword at her throat. She was weak. Hiei had hoped for a bit of a challenge but she was no match for him. He was disappointed.

"Where is the stone? I know you have it"

He had lost the gem months ago in the fight he had with a demon and was unable to find it ever since. He needed that stone. It was the tear gem he had from his mother since he was born. He never realized how much he needed it but now that he finally saw it he wanted it back. And the whore in front of him had it.

Hiei never had much interest in women. Compared to his mother that betrayed her kind and fell in love with a fire demon, Hiei had no fondness towards such feelings. Love was something for the feeble. It was a disgusting disease, that made the man lose his head and succumb himself to be the slave of a woman. Women were witty and cunning in Makai. If they were weak, they were ready to use any means necessary to increase their powers akin to subjugating the stronger demons. His mind could not comprehend why would someone chose to become so vulnerable. Women rarely presented a challenge for him when it came to battle. Even after he acquired his Jagan and his powers decreased considerably, he had yet to meet a woman strong enough to challenge him. They were just weak and pathetic. He met enough women who tried to trick him in one way or another to understand that he would never succumb himself to them. He knew all their tricks.

He had become accustomed to whores and demon girls quite early when his body reached his teenage years. His first time was with a woman from the bandit village. He was more or less a child back then but demon female thought it will help him satisfy his thirst for blood. She claimed she was concerned for him because he was enjoying the killing too much. But, Hiei understood immediately that she was using sex to control him and weaken him, until he was nothing more but a puppet in her hands. He used her instead. Hiei never found as much pleasure in a woman as he was experiencing during the battle. But he still found in his body a desire to have them. When his demonic instincts were talking over, he preferred to be done with them as quick as possible.

* * *

It was a surprise to him to find the gem in the whore house. In truth for new comers and travellers the place was also used as a hotel since the owner was quite famous for his liquors between the locals. But no girl ever came there alone for nothing. She was dressed differently than the rest of the girls and she had a long black cloak on her shoulders covering her head. She was sitting at a table in the corner looking at the Hiruiseki stone.

Hiei felt it the moment he entered the house. He saw it briefly in her hand shining blue just as she was tossing it back inside the dress. The familiarity of the stone stroked him. Hiei had lost all the hope in finding it, so he was too surprised to take it from her, in the first instance. Was that really his stone? He was no sure about it. But before he had managed to clear his thoughts and to convince himself that it was his stone, the girl disappeared in the corridor next to her. His doubts vanished the moment he saw her gone with the owner closing the door after her. He could not let her escape.

He immediately wanted to follow her, but he was stopped at the door by a massive demon that threatened to kill him if he took another step. If anyone knew Hiei, he would have known that there were higher chances of convincing a volcano to stop erupting, that to stop the fire demon when he was after something. He was not backing up.

Hiei was surrounded immediately but he knew none of them were a match for him. The fire demon was hardly intimidated by anyone even thought his strength had weakened with the acquisition on the Jagan eye. It took him longer to fight all the demons, but he still managed to kill them all, leaving a dozen of death bodies behind him. The rest of demons ran away in fear, while the whores stayed hidden and out of his sight.

Their blood opened Hiei's appetite for killing but the scandal gave the girl time to escape him and run far away. He caught her tracks immediately as the disgusting stench of human and perfume was easy to follow and now he had cornered her with no chance to escape. He was debating between killing her immediately or slowly and painfully for having the nerve to touch his precious stone, when she spoke:

"Please…I don't understand. I don't have anything." The girl claimed she did not understand him. She knew nothing of a stone and she never took anything from anyone.

With a slow move Hiei lowered his sword towards her chest cutting her dress in a line until her gem fell down on the ground. She was terrified. An amusing smile graced his lips like a predator watches his prey as she jumped immediately to catch the gem. Hiei could have caught it easily and ended this fast, but he had no interest to finish with her quickly. The stone was his. She had to pay for having the nerve to steal his necklace.

The girl started to retreat and back out from him but he caught her hand immediately as she was bringing the stone back to her chest. She looked at his red eyes as he was holding her so tightly that the blood stopped flowing.

"Give it to me or is the last thing you will ever do"

Her hand was already so pale that she did not have any strength any more. She didn't know what to do. She was pondering between attacking him with all her powers as a last escaping resort or giving it to him and staying alive. The girl had never fought someone before, but the demon gave the impression that he would kill her either way.

She decided. Her best chance was to attack him and kill him. She valued the gem almost as much as her life. That stone was a gift from her mother. It was the only connection she had with her ice maiden sister and the only way to find her again. She had lost so many people and she did not want to lose her as well.

She gathered her strength and blew a ray of energy so powerful that it blew him a few meters away. A normal demon would have been knocked down, but Hiei's was fast enough to dodge the attack, being hit only in the shoulder. The attack was strong, paralyzing his left arm. The surprising pain he felt through his whole body after the attack, made him more determined and angry. He never backed away from a challenge.

She started to throw ice shards at him while her energy seemed to grow stronger and stronger. She tried to freeze him but the demon was too fast for her. She barely managed to follow his moves. She was preventing him from getting closer to her, but he was evading her every attack. The girl wanted to trap him somehow. He was looking for an opening to kill her but she used water and ice attacks to prevent him from getting closer.

The fire demon was surprised by how fierce she had become all of a sudden. His first attack on the girl gave him the impression that she was just an easy target. She looked so hopeless, fragile and pathetic before, that he almost considered leaving her alone after he took her stone. Killing her would have given him no joy, but now he saw the waiting was worth it. He felt no need to activate his full powers and use his Jagan yet. He focused on dodging her assaults, analysing her every move to see what she could do.

Her hits were living him little room to get closer to her but he maintained his focus until the girl got tired. He was astonished she had the guts to try to kill him. Her dress was half torn but she did not even care or think of that any more. Her long black curly hair that she had tied in a bow was now messy and falling freely over her shoulders slightly covering her breasts. Her whole image was increasing Hiei's enjoyment and he had to admit he found her quite attractive.

He did not know if he would have chosen to have sex with her when he went to the whore house. The girl did not strike him as beautiful at first, but in these circumstances, seeing her fight so intensely and dressed like that, she was definitely eye-catching. His demon body was heated signalling that he should take control and dominate her, but Hiei ignored his impulses focusing on the battle.

She was already becoming tired and her aim was not as accurate any more. He waited for the right moment activating his Jagan. He was much fast and precise than her. It only took the girl a moment of hesitation, before he attacked her quickly and pointed his sword her throat.

* * *

She was breathing heavily from the effort and the gem was now on the ground next to her while she was pinned to the tree with his sword at her neck. She could hear her heartbeat and oddly enough she was not scared. She thought her tears will come, but as she was looking in his eyes and at the third eye he now had, nothing came to her mind any more. It was just a prolonged silence. She closed her eyes awaiting her faith but the last strike never came. He just continued to observe her intensively as she was caching her breath.

"Do you want die?" She was surprised to hear his question and the tone of his voice. It was not murderous but strangely calm and with a slight emotion in his voice that she could not identify.

"No" Her answer was automatic, coming from fear. His question made her wonder. She had never thought about death before.

"Then how about you dance your little whore dance now?... For your life"

She was thrown on the ground before she had time to think or understand what he meant. His words did not make any sense at first but she quickly realized what he meant when she found him on top of her touching her inappropriately. Her body froze in the first second but her instincts quickly reacted and started to push him away from her.

"No! Stop!"

She tried to escape him but he was too strong for her. Her struggles and punches only turned him on and when she felt the sudden pain ripping her from the inside, she knew the answer to his question. She wanted to die. She begged him to stop and to kill her but he ignored her words completely.

His release came fast as he was already very excited from the battle, but to her it seemed like an eternity. The pain was the worst think she had ever experienced. She remembered the days when she was younger and she sneaked on some women to hear their conversation about childbirth. Their discussion made everything seem wonderful but what she felt right now was nothing but a prolonged and intense torture. She just wanted to die now.

Hiei retreated from her pulling his pants up, grabbing the stone from the floor. The mud and her dress were full of blood and he wandered if he had been mistaken about her being a whore.

"Please kill me"

For the first time in his life he felt conflicted. He knew now that she was just a girl but he convinced himself it did not matter so much. She would have done it anyway and women in Makai were used with this kind of fate. Yet while she was lying on the ground crying he did not feel like killing her any more.

As he took the sword in his hands debating if he should do it, the ice maiden stone started to shine in his hand in a strange red light calming him down but also making him wonder. He left her there walking as far as possible from her before the gem stopped shining. But as he was looking at it now, he could tell at a glance it was not his stone. For a second back then it felt so familiar but now it only made him uneasy and remorseful. He felt so conflicted and lost. Hiei knew now that the stone was not his. He threw it in a river wanting to get rid of this accusing feeling in his heart, leaving back towards his original destination: his birthplace.


	2. The journey begins

_"__At that time, I did not know that he came back to look for me. Years later I was to find out that he saved that stone. That he looked for it in the cold river and intended to give it back .But he never found a trace of me again. Perhaps it was our destiny to meet again years later when our hearts were ready. Looking back, the me from back then would have hated him with all her heart. But the me from today is not so sure any more. "_

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**Chapter 1 – The journey begins**

It was summer when I was born, a long warm summer that lasted all my childhood. I was a blessed child they said. The signs of the winter were showing days before my birth, first with the sudden chill in the air, then with the sudden death of trees and flowers and then with the first snow storm of the year, in just a few days before I arrived. My mother laboured a day and a half. A child that arrives with the winter is never a good sign they said. But when I came out in this world, the sun was already shining so bright that the snow was melting rapidly. After my birth the Gods blessed us with the warmest days of the year.

I was named Maemi – a child of a thousand blessings, although it has been long since someone called me like that. My mother loved this name though. My parents were convinced I will have a life full of happiness and joy. They told me I would be like a princess, that I will bring this kingdom peace and prosperity. People were convinced that our Goddess of the Winter protected me and for a long time I believed that as well. But not any more…

I was eleven when the winter came. With its dark nights and cold winds that I heard only in my grandmother's stories, it came like a whisper. Slowly making room for autumn into our lives and changing the nature as we where pondering when was the last day we felt the warmth of the sun. I was not cold. My father was the lord of these northern lands and our ancestors have ruled these lands for thousands of years, since demons still existed in the kingdom.

Cold did not bother us as much any more. While people ran to the south for warmer places, our ancestors chose the roughness of the winter and learned to embrace it and use it in our advantage. Some thought they were foolish for choosing this, I thought they were heroes.

I greatly admired my ancestors back then. I used to climb the roof in the middle of the night to watch the northern lights that were colouring the sky with rays of green, red and blue. People said they appear also in the human world I live now. But I never saw them. Even after all this years I still know so little about this human world. But I can tell you everything about my world.

The northern lights from my land had nothing to do with a natural phenomenon. They were brazing the sky in different directions during the nights of summer and if you had the courage to face the blizzard and wind and follow the lights for miles and miles, you would have seen they all unite and form a centre above the Atlantian Mountains. That's where our world ended and the demon world began.

They say that in the middle of the mountain deep down into the ice and protected by a labyrinth with thousands of corridors there is a source of energy much stronger that anyone has ever seen. Some legends say no human or demon could survive it, if they ever come in contact with this power, while others stories say that only the person with the purest heart can remain unaffected by its power and master its energy. This light supports the barrier that separates our world and from the demon world and gives us vitality and spiritual energy to survive in this lands and protect our people. As long as the barrier existed, our worlds could never meet and we will be forever protected from the evil demons. Or that's what we thought…

* * *

In my land there is saying that "you cannot escape the things you fear the most". I really thought we were safe back then, but the future is always unpredictable.

I was happy child full of dreams, love and hope. I used to be quite a spoiled child if I must say but I was also special because of my powers. It is common for the people in my land to have the powers to control water, snow or ice because we are protected by the Goddess of the Winter. Some also say the source of our powers comes from the same energy as the barrier that protects us. But my powers showed at such an early age than everyone was surprised. They said I could play with water even before I could walk. My mother thought I will be a child prodigy. But sadly I had little interest in training and my concentration skills were as worse as they could be. I was as impatient and as much as I respected my father I stubbornly refused to learn anything. All I wanted to do back then was play around. I would still play with water and create fun games for myself but I hated anything related to the training.

I still wonder even now what would have happened if I would have trained back then. I was young but maybe with all the training I could have been strong enough to protect them. Maybe I would have been wise enough not to do the things I did. I wish my story would be of a brave girl who faced all the difficulties to save the ones she loved. I wish I was one of the heroes in my bed time stories. I wish I lived up to the expectations of everyone but I didn't.

My family and everyone I loved were killed by a demon. But it was not a true demon from the demon land. The barrier did his job and protected us from Makai as it always did. But the danger came from one of our own. A human with more hatred and desire for power than any demon I have ever met in Makai. Even now I cannot think of him as a human. He was a monster that destroyed every single thing that was important to me. He ended my world once and he is now threatening to do it again. The only thing that is stopping him is the barrier that used to separate us from Makai.

* * *

When I ran away, I found a secret passage that connects both worlds and passes thought the Ice maidens village, but only the people from my land know of it. The elders have kept it as a secret and passed this knowledge only to my father and his army. They were the guardians of

the barrier and the only ones who would ever go into the demon land. They did a great job at defending us as no demon has ever managed to cross the barrier and come to our land. The only demons we knew were the ice maidens from the Korime village. But we never considered them as demons.

The legend says that thousands of years ago when the demons and humans still lived together in the same land, the humans were living in terror and fear. The demons were growing stronger and stronger and even though the humans were training slayers to hunt them and kill them, the days were less and less peaceful for both sides.

One day a young priestess maiden was running in the mountains in a cold snow storm when a demon appeared out of nowhere. Her first instinct was to use her powers to attack him but as she looked in the demons eyes she sat down in her knees and prayed without doing anything. The animal demon stopped attacking her and seeing this she continued to pray days and nights for peace between this worlds.

It is said the Goddess of the Winter answered her prayers and united with the young maiden to fulfil her wish. She created the first barrier between the humans and demons and separated our worlds forever. The girl remained on the mountain to thank the Goddess for her kindness and received the power procreate without the need of any man. She continued to give birth to girls that will continue her legacy and she lived her life helping both human and demon worlds.

Her village still exists even today although the ice maidens have long forgotten their purpose. They now live their lives as isolated as possible from both worlds. I used to admire them back then. As my father was the lord of the land, I had the honour to visit them to receive their blessing in first month I was born. In my land it was believed that our girls should be baptised in a special holy water taken from the Korime village so that the Winter Goddess will offer us the power to heal and protect our villages.

The ceremony was normally made in the village the girls were born, but I was a special child. My father was the lord of the land so on the day with a full moon when I was one month old, my mother took me to the village and presented me to the eldest of the Korime. She gave me her blessing and I was taken to the statue of the Goddess at the most spiritual place of the village.

My day happen to coincide with the day another maiden celebrated her birthday and we were baptised at the same time by the same person and in the same place. I don't remember anything from it, but my mother told me such a thing was very rare. The girl was the youngest of her village. Mother said this ceremony is made among the Korime when one of them reaches 15 years old because this is believed to be the age the Goddess had when she created the barrier and the village.

One that day the Korime girl named Yukina became my sister. We had different mothers but that ceremony created an indestructible bond between us that still exists to this very day. My mom told me that when Yukina took my small hand, a white light surrounded us and the statue cried two tear gems like the white pearls. Even though I was only one month old, I still feel that warm feeling that surrounded my heart that day, every time I think about it.

That day we did not only become sisters, but our lives connected in a way no one else could imagine. That tear gem used to help me feel when she is happy, sad or upset. And even after years of being apart and not seeing each other, I still felt a silent whisper in my heart every time something happened to her. In all the bad things that happened in my past she was one of the few persons I still managed to protect. Who knew that after fifteen years of not seeing each other, I will become the cause of her tears…

* * *

**Author note: Hello everyone, I am back with the second chapter. I know the first one was a bit dramatic but I promise I have high hopes for Hiei during my story. He is my favourite character so I definitely do not consider him evil. Please let me know what were your thoughts are about the this chapter. Your reviews are really important to me and make me write this story so much faster XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. **


	3. A new king in Makai

_If live was a big game of chess what kind of piece would you be? A queen? A knight ? A pawn? I always thought I would chose to be the king because no matter how badly he loses, the king can never be taken from the board. _

_But the role of the king is the hardest. _

_He must have the courage to sacrifice all his pieces, even the most important ones in order to obtain his victory. Perhaps this is the reason I was always a pawn in life. I did not have the courage to take the game in my own hands and before I knew it someone else made the sacrifices for me and I can never ever get them back._

* * *

**Chapter 2 - A new King in Makai**

Hiei opened his eyes in the hospital rooms of the tournament seeing Kurama smiling at the door.

"It was about time you wake up Hiei, I was almost concerned you are competing with Yusuke in a sleeping contest"

"Hm, don't think I have decreased so low fox, that foolish detective will probably sleep for weeks after the fight he had. Just as he said that Yusuke entered the room fully dressed and packed laughing at Hiei

"Joke's on you Hiei, you were the only sleeping beauty in this area.

"Hm I could easily knock you dumb head a few times to make sure the hospital won't miss you too much.

"Haha as much as I love the challenge Keiko would kill me if I miss another day. " He was already shivering at the thought of how angry will Keiko be when she found out he left her to fight in another demon tournament. Just the thought of it made him so tense he could barely rest after the fight. His energy was so little; a low class demon could probably beat him.

Hiei was more or less recovered compared to him and Kurama had no problems at all as he did not participate any more in the tournament. The fox demon was quite settled in his human life and as much as he loved to test his powers from time to time, he did not want to risk getting involved again in the demon world affairs.

Six years have passed since the tournament was organized for the first time. Surprisingly Enki managed to win both tournaments that have been organized so far and his ruling made the demon world more peaceful. Mukuro, Yomi and Yusuke continued to be the lords of their lands and worked together with the king to maintain the peace between humans and demons. Yusuke did not do much of course as he was busy travelling between both worlds but he made sure to come often and remain in touch with Hokushin regarding the problems of his land.

The question that was on everyone's mind was what will happen from now on. Enki lost the new tournament and was defeated by a new demon no one has ever seen before. He won the first fights so easily; even Kurama had a hard time figuring out what kind of powers he had.

But the most surprising thing was the fight between Yusuke and him. Yusuke fought intensely but their fighting style did not match. Yusuke could not even land a hit on him as he was dodging them so easily and his attacks came from all directions like small needles of energy which Yusuke could not block. He would like to say that he gave all he had, but Yusuke knew he lost without much battle.

The guy reminded him or Karasu the member of the team Toguro. He had *quest-class abilities but he easily gave of as an upper S class. Moreover, Yusuke was already tired after the fight with Shura to be able to face him at full power.

"Damn it, it's already been a week since we are here. We need to go back soon before I end up sleeping on the streets."

"Already spoke with Kuwabara, Yusuke" Kurama said "They know everyone is fine and that we will be back soon. May I suggest you get her a present when you go back. They have some nice jewellery in the city"

Damn Kurama, I knew I keep you around for a reason. I think I will get her something before we go. Keiko was not so harsh when I gave her the flowers you made last time. "Are you coming with us Hiei?

"Hm, You know my answer detective. Your world smells too much of stupid humans for my taste"

"So you are not coming to Yukina's wedding? " She was asking about you.

"Hm that stupid ritual of yours its only due in a month"

"Hehe and I thought you cannot wait to beat the shit out of Kuwabara, who knew our Hiei has gotten so soft. You came to love the big guy" Yusuke teased him

"Shut it detective; don't even mention me and that stupid oaf in the same sentence. I can't believe Yukina likes that idiot"

"You know he would protect her Hiei, Kurama interrupted. Even you cannot deny that Kuwabara really cares for her. She deserves to be happy"

"I don't need you to tell me that fox"

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Pardon me my lords King Aizen has requested your presence. He would like to meet with the lords of Makai"

Yusuke gave Hiei a knowing look signalling that is time for them to go see what the new demon wanted. He was not that worried about Human world as Aizen declared on the stage that he will continue what Enki started and that he will maintain the same relationships with the human world. Any demon that attacked a human or killed him will be severely punished. Yusuke was relieved that everything will stay the same but he still had a feeling something was odd about him. When Kurama confirmed Yusuke's doubts he knew he will have to observe the guy more carefully.

Seeing as only Hiei and Yusuke where about to follow him the demon looked.

"Apologize my lord, although King Aizen knows you are not involved in the affairs of Makai any more, he would still like to see Youko Kurama as well. "

Kurama nodded being already alert. It was not strange for Hiei to go with Yusuke as he was Mukuro's general and her right hand. In the past years Hiei has gotten more used with the affairs of Makai and participated with Mukuro in all the important events. Mukuro was quite fond of him, which generated a lot of speculations about nature of their relationship, but Kurama knew Hiei enough to know nothing of that sort happened between them yet.

He was surprised Aizen knew about him. He rarely visited Makai and his human form was rarely recognizable. His guess was that someone had already a special interest in them and did his research very well.

Reaching the palace of the new king did not take long and when they entered the room Yomi, Shura and Mukuro were already there together with Enki. The surprise was to see Koenma in his adult form sitting also at the table. When he saw Yusuke and the rest he greeted them with a smile and nod letting Aizen to continue.

A: Thank you all for coming on such a short notice. I would like to say it is a pleasure to meet you all but I am afraid the circumstances are not appropriate. I am sure you already know each other and who I am so I will skip the introduction and go straight to the point. He stood up while the rest were sitting at the table turning on the screen behind him.

This is the most recent map we have with Makai territory. As you can probably see by looking at the territories the map is already outdated and there are lots of areas missing from the map. He pointed towards an unknown area zooming inside the map until a deserted area full of ice could be seen. This is where the world as you know ends. I am not sure how many of you are aware of it, but starting in this mountains and surrounding the whole Makai there is a barrier that separates the demon world from another world. Among its people this world is referred to as "Nirenkai" but you may call it as you like. It is populated by humans but they have as much power as any demon in Makai and they can usually face the highest A class demons. As it is now this world presents no danger to our world. However in the past 20 years this world has faced a war between the most power lords of the land. The war was started by the leader of a powerful family that...

"And how is that relevant to us? Can you just rush to the point; some of us don't have all the time in the world" Yusuke interrupted as he was already losing his patience. He liked to think that he became wiser over time but truth to be told he was tired after the tournament and he had an angry wife waiting for him at home after he disappeared with no reason and left her with two hyperactive children to look after.

Aizen gave him an annoyed look because he hated to be interrupted. He considered ignoring his question but since Yusuke looked really impatient he shut him off with an irritated tone. "I am giving you all the relevant information and I will only explain everything once. It is up to you if you wish to stay or leave but do not come to me later asking for answers when your family will be attacked and killed. "

This made Yusuke to pay attention and take him seriously. _What is actually going on?_

A: As I was saying the humans in this world have as much power as any demon. The war was started by a powerful family that wanted nothing more but to rule the whole world and increase its power. They have developed a technique that absorbs a person spiritual power and transfers it permanently to the person that can absorb it. Using this technique his army became slowly invincible and they are now looking to destroy the barrier and take over our world.

You might already know this but there have been signs of countless demons in Makai who have been attacked and lost their powers completely. They were all A class demons and while this might not seem significant at the moment, if we don't catch them now, there is only a matter of time before they become invincible.

Moreover, it is not only Makai that had some weird encounters. Koenma already reported that demons with a strange energy have been spotted in Japan and although they did nothing strange until now, I am sure they might be plotting something. There is also the possibility that they might target the people that you are close to. For example Yusuke, he turned his head irritated at him, your family might become a target in the future. If they start absorbing any of your S class powers they will become unstoppable. This is the reason I wanted to inform all of you as soon as possible about this.

They all fell silent for a second letting the information sink it. Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei looked immediately at each other thinking of the friends they had home which were now already unprotected. Kurama was first to break the silence.

K: So to steal someone's power they need to be in close proximity with that person? But how exactly can they absorb our powers?

A: To take your powers they will first block the energy that flows in your body. There are various chi points in your body that connects the energy and lets the power flow and be controlled as you want to. They cannot take your powers while you are fighting and while the energy is not blocked yet. After the energy is blocked you will be unable to move and they will simply absorb it out of your body. Unfortunately I cannot tell you exactly how the procedure is and how can we best defend against it. This is all the information that I have.

Mukuro: And how do you know all of this? It seems you are quite familiar with everything.

Kurama: I was thinking the same. It is a bit to suspicious how you give us all the information immediately after you won the tournament.

Aizen: I knew it will be. As you already all suspect I knew everything beforehand. I decided to participate in the tournament because I have all the information and I want to protect this world from that person at all cost.

Yomi: It appeared you know their leader very well.

Aizen: I do. I have been part of his family long time ago and you could say I have some personal business with their leader. His name is Minoru. I have fought under his command until he decided to destroy everything and fight for power and supremacy. I have turned against him and I swore to bring him down and make him paid for what he did to my world. I chose to participate in the Makai tournament because I wish to protect these worlds and work together with you to defeat him.

Yusuke: But how are we going to defeat him?

Aizen: Unfortunately this is all the information I have of him. I only suspect what his plans might be.

Kurama: You said there is a barrier protecting us from him. How is it possible for him to cross it?

Aizen: There are some secret passages where you can cross the barrier. Or he could have made a hole in it. The best way to destroy its barrier is to absorb the source of energy that keeps it alive, but the energy is so strong that it's impossible for him to do this at the moment. The moment he will try to absorb it he will be destroyed. There might still be a possibility for him to try this so I have sent some men already to supervise the area and let me know immediately if they see anything out of place.

Yusuke: So do you know where this guy is hiding? Can't we just cross the barrier and go to him and kill him?

Kurama: That might not be smart Yusuke; he will probably know we are coming. We do not know anything of his world and what kind of power he has. We would just walk into his trap.

Yusuke: So what do you propose to do then? Wait for him to come and get us.

Yomi: There were some demons that lost their power in my land. I will question them and try to trap whoever did this.

Aizen: That might work out. We need more information and to capture some of his followers. I suggest we also monitories carefully the human world.

Koenma: It should not be that hard to detect their energy again. As soon as we find someone I will inform Yusuke and his team to catch them. We need to understand what his plan is.

They all agreed to start searching in Makai and Ningenkai as soon as possible. Koenma gave them all communication devices to be able to contact each other immediately if something happens and the meeting ended with this. Yusuke and Kurama agreed to search human world and Hiei joined them shortly after a discussion with Mukuro. He did not like to leave Yukina alone in this world and his Jagan could search much faster than any of Koenma fools. After all the details of their plan were discussed, Yusuke asked Koenma to make a portal for them to send them home. He did not like to waste any second in this world any more with someone out there hunting them. They left immediately, but by the time they arrived it was already too late.

* * *

**Note: **

* quest class abilities = translated as _Rule Ability_ is a special breed of demon with the ability to create something from nothing; literally materializing objects seemingly out of thin air.


	4. Trapped in a spiderweb

**Author note: **Here is the next chapter everyone. I know up until now the story did not say much but today is the day the action finally starts.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu yu Hakusho

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Trapped in the ****spider web**

The town was too noisy. She was in the train now on her way to the university. She had planned to revise her notes one last time before her exam started, but she could not concentrate. Today was the day she decided to live her dream and become a medical student. She had worked so hard in the last year trying to save up for the university fees and now she finally had the chance to take the entrance exams. But the city was so noisy she could not study.

Maemi was not a quiet person but she had always lived in the country side. Everything was so peaceful and quiet there_. I will have to get used with this noise eventually_. She sighted closing her notebook looking around annoyed at the high school girls that were chatting next to her. _"These girls have been talking for hours, don't they ever get tired? " _She looked around in the train to see if there was anything unusual. Ever since morning, she kept having the strange feeling that someone was watching her. But there was nothing out of ordinary in the train.

However, when she walked to the station Maemi could have sworn someone was following her but every time she would turn around, there was no one there_. "It's probably just the stress of the day." _She felt relieved when the train finally arrived in the station and she went down.

The girl was not the type to get paranoid, but she still run fast towards the university hoping that whoever followed her will lose her sight among all the people. Not that she believed someone was following her but one can never be too cautions.

The centre was busy as usual. It was past midday and the people where running around like ants in a hurry. One thing she learned about the Japanese is that they were always in hurry. The lifts were in hurry, the trains and buses were always on time and if you ever took your time to get in the elevator, it will just shut in your face or trap you between the doors. That's why she loved to live in the village. The region was full of trees and flowers. People were much nicer with each other and everyone minded their own business.

She finally stopped running when she reached the park. The feeling that someone was watching her had stopped at last _"It's ok Emi, It was probably only your imagination". _She entered the park sitting on a bench close to the entrance looking at the tall buildings across the street. She checked the time and opened her notebook to revise a bit. She had more than two hours before the exam started.

However, after around twenty minutes Maemi started to feel the sensation again. It was stronger than before. She knew for sure now that she was in danger. She looked around once again for anything suspicious but she did not see anything. But when she raised her head she saw him. He was there looking straight at her from the top of the building in front of her.

_"__Ok Emi option one you try to hide from whoever this guy is and lose his track."_ That was not too hard considering the amount of people on the streets. _ But if he found me once he can do it again. Maybe I should face him and see what the hell he wants. But then I don't know anything of this guy and it could easily be a trap. _She did not even know if he was alone. "But maybe I can find that out." She run away like before getting lost in a sea of people that where coming from the subway station. If she fooled him once she could do it again and earn some time.

She took the black scarf from her bag, tying it around her head to hide her red hair. One foolish thing she did before coming to Japan was dying her original black hair into red with hair dye bought in the demon world. Needless to say how surprised she was when she saw the majority of the people in Japan had black hair and she was standing out like a duck in flock of hens. She tried in vain to get rid of the colour but no matter how much hair dye she put on her head that colour would just appear the next day as strong as always. She eventually gave up trying and now once again Maemi was suffering the consequences.

_The buildings are over 10 floors tall in this area. It will take him too much time to go down and even if he could jump from that height, he would attract too much attention. He will stay on the roofs. _

She entered the shopping mall next to her taking the stairs all the way to the last floor. She did not easily find the exit to the roof as these things where usually hidden, but when she sneaked past an employee entrance, she discovered it easily.

The girl was not the detective type but she was definitely good at hiding. Therefore she used her skills to stay as hidden as possible crawling on the ground until the edge of the roof looking at the other buildings to see if he was still there.

Her mind told her to be cautions so she carefully looked around to see if there was anything suspicious. But there was no one else following her. On the roof on the other building she saw him. Her stalker was standing in the same place unaware of her presence looking at the people below. "_Is he looking for me? I am surprised he did not move yet. He knows I could have run away by now." _But just as Maemi thought that he turned around and looked her in the eyes. He had a huge scar covering half his face but the rest of him looked human. Seeing as she was discovered, Maemi decided to confront him. She jumped on the roof of the building where he was standing asking:

"Who are you and why are you following me? "

The man did not answer her. Instead he took his sword out directing his energy towards the blade. In less than a second the blade lighted in fire forcing her to back out. He proceeded to attack her while she moved fast left and right trying to dodge the flame. She kept looking for something she could use but there was no source of water around. Her powers could only manipulate water and without anything of that sort around, she was as good as dead.

"What is it little princess, can't do any tricks? I was told you would be quite some challenge"

Her hands started to gloom a green light forming a green energy in her hand like a round ball forcing him to stay on guard for the hit. She gathered the energy until it looked like a huge ball but before Maemi could do anything her whole body froze in place. She heard a huge blown behind her like someone shot a racket, followed immediately by the screams of the people.

Something hit her. She felt a huge pain close to her chest falling on her knees breathing heavily. The guy took advantage of the situation kicking her with his leg a few meters away until she felt the edge of the building. He grabbed her throat lifting her up and turning her around to have a good look at the commotion, almost pushing her of the edge.

"Take a good look princess; after all it's your fault for all of this"

He released her while she looked carefully down seeing someone was hurt.

" And how is that my fault?" She screamed annoyed turning at him but he was already gone without a trace. "How could he disappear like that" she wondered looking again at the people bellow. He saw someone pointing at her and all the people staring up, but she did not understand what was happening. "I should get out of here"

Maemi hoped no one was injured and part of her wanted to use her healing powers on that person. But she could not do that with so many people around. She first had to get out of the area. The rooftop had no ladder downstairs so she had to jump on a few buildings until she found another exit. It was too dangerous to use the same entrance she came from. "There must be a way which he used to disappear like that".

Surprisingly she did not have any wound. She could have sworn she was heavily hit from the back but her clothes and everything seemed normal. The pain was also gone the moment he grabbed her.

Maemi knew something was off about the whole setup. Her attacker just run away without doing anything but it looked clearly that he accomplished his mission. She did not waste time any more. She jumped on the buildings trying to run away from the area but it was already too late. Someone was following her, someone much faster than anyone she ever met. In few seconds he was in front of her, and she was not given a single chance to react. All she saw were his crimson eyes before she felt a sharp pain in the stomach and her world turn black.

* * *

"Hiei no!" Kurama and Yusuke arrived just to see the final blow. They stopped his hand but she was already unconscious and bleeding heavily.

K: You know we need her alive, Hiei!

H: Don't worry fox. I do not intend to let her die so easily after what she did to Yukina. I avoided all her vital organs.

Y: Damn Hiei, you sure caught her fast. Aizen made them sound like they are so powerful. Are you sure there is no one else around?

H: If they were, they'll be death by now.

Y: Damn! Don't tell me this is all they send to us? I was seriously hoping I get to kick some ass. Do you guys wanna let "his royal highness" know we caught one?

K: I rather prefer to interrogate her ourselves Yusuke. We know very little about Aizen and I am not quite sure if we can trust him.

H: hm, don't worry fox I don't intend to hand our little pray to anyone. He was angry and his voice was murderous. He did not only want to kill the whore that did this to his sister. He wanted to put her through so much pain, so that she'll understand every single second that Yukina suffered.

Y: My thoughts exactly. Think you can read her mind?

H: The Jagan works the best when she is conscious.

Y: Kuwabara already took Yukina to Genkai. Let's all go there and we will interrogate the girl when she wakes up. Don't worry Hiei, we'll make them pay for this.

Although the distance to Genkai was around 3 hours by train, Kuwabara ran so fast when Yukina was hurt, that he arrived there in a few minutes. He could still not believe what had happened. Today was the day they planned to look for a wedding dress and to choose the cakes for the party. Yukina was still not accustomed to all the traditions so Shizuru and Keiko were accompanying them to do the shopping. Normally they would have gone alone but Keiko was stressed about Yusuke and Kuwabara was the type who agreed with everything as long as it made Yukina happy. She could have pretty much ordered a giant turtle with three heads as a wedding cake and he would have been completely fine with it. Furthermore, when it came to dresses, the girls wanted to surprise him so he was not allowed to see what his beautiful bride-to-be would wear. He could not wait to see her. Part of him could still no believe that they were finally getting married.

Yukina tried to avoid this kind of relationship for a long time because she was scared that she might ruin Kazuma's life because she was a demon. Her kind lived much longer than him and she did not want to wake up one day with Kazuma hating her, but he convinced her that this will never happened. Truth to be told, he was scared Yukina will never like someone like him, but when she kissed him so gentle all his worries vanished immediately and he was the happiest man in the world.

But now Yukina was dying and all his happiness was coming to an end. She was badly hurt he could tell that. The attack happened so fast he did not even understand anything until he saw her on the ground in a pool of blood and unconscious. He was at an ice cream stand two corners ahead when he felt a strong unusual energy around him. The energy was more different that anything has seen. So he rushed back immediately hoping there was nothing when he saw the attack. He did not have time to react or do anything. He just saw his beloved one getting hit full blown by something similar with Yusuke's spirit gun. The attack was a precise shot that only focused on Yukina even though there were so many people around. No one else was hurt except her. He saw how everyone gathered around them to see if she was ok, while Kuwabara was holding her tight trying to wake her up. Shizuru was inspired enough to stop the bleeding by ripping the blouse she just bought and binding it around Yukina's body.

The people were talking and screaming behind him but Kuwabara could barely make sense of what they were saying.

"Look up there's a girl over there, that's the attacker." "Someone call the police""I called an ambulance sir, don't worry". He turned his head to look at the person who was pointing at the attacker. She was in the distance but he looked her in the eyes with all his fury and he knew that all his life honour code will not prevent him to make her pay if Yukina will not make it. He wanted to catch her but he could not live Yukina alone in a time like this. He was quickly pondering what to do when Hiei and the rest showed up seeing everything that happened.

"She is over there on top of the building. She is running away. Go! "

They vanished in front of everyone not caring what people thought while Kuwabara took Yukina to Genkai after Shizuru managed to stop the bleeding of her wounds.

Genkai was already outside when Kuwabara arrived. They brought Yukina to a room and she immediately started to heal her. The old lady was as strong as ever although her old age was showing even more now. She didn't do much fighting any more but she still spends her days babysitting Yusuke and training his children.

"Will you stop moving around you moron! Her body already started healing itself and her wounds are not as big as you think. Stop pestering me or go out. I don't need an impatient crybaby to disrupt my concentration.

Kuwabara wanted to say something but seeing how concentrated Genkai was he stopped moving around the room and sat down trying to relax. He had no patience but he did not want to disturb Genkai. He just wanted his beloved Yukina to wake up and be ok. Her wounds were almost closed when he felt the energies of his friends coming closer. He knew Yukina will be ok so he went to them to find out what happened.


	5. The interrogation of the prisoner

**Chapter 4 - The interrogation of the prisoner**

It was dark when Maemi opened her eyes. Her body was numb and weak and she could not move her arms any more. Someone tied her hands behind her back with some sort of energy-made cuffs. _Well girl, it_ _looks like you have been captured and what a lovely day to have it all happen. _The room was empty, dark and with no windows. _Now what? Are they just going to keep me here?_ She wanted to stand on her feet but her body felt to numb. Her throat was dry and she was thirsty. She remembered being stabbed but it looked like someone closed her wound already. _I guess they need me alive for now_. _Should I wait here until someone comes? _She could not use her hands and she hated it. _My nose is itchy, my toe is itchy and I am slowly losing my patience._

"Hello! Are you just going to keep me here forever?"_ I should probably feel scared now. _Instead she felt really annoyed for some reason._ I can't believe they decided to do this today from all the days. I hope everyone is safe at home. _Suddenly someone open the door in front of her. The bright light made her close her eyes for a few seconds, until she adjusted to the brightness of the corridor.

"Come girl, is time for you to answer some questions" She was surprised to see a small old lady in front of her. She followed her making an effort although her body was feeling very weak.

"You don't look like the kidnapper type Oba-san"

"You don't look much of a fighter either, but the world is full of surprises right?"

Maemi followed her slowly feeling now the pain of her wound. _They stopped the bleeding but the wound is still there. I need to be careful not to open it. I must have lost a lot of blood already. _

Genkai took her into the living room asking her sit on one of the chairs. Everyone looked at her strangely while she studied their faces carefully. She did not like to be stared at but she wanted to memories their faces. They all gave her a dangerous look. She was feeling like a lamb in a cage of lions. A helpless wounded arm cuffed lamb. She had no way out of this. _I wonder what they want. _

She finally noticed her attacker in the left corner with his back leaned against the wall. He was giving her murderous looks but what was strange to her was the third eye he had in his forehead. It scared her but it also gave her a weird feeling of déjà vu. There were four boys in the room but none of them intrigued her as much as he did. _I feel like I have seen him somewhere. _The old lady grabbed herself some tea taking a seat as well nodding to Kurama that they may start.

While Maemi was sleeping, they all agreed to let Kurama do the interrogation. Hiei was supposed to read her mind while she answered and looked for any other information that was necessary to them.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were already impatient looking forward to punch somebody and kill all the bastards that decided to mess with their families. Kurama sat on the chair in front of her looking as serious as the rest watching her every move and facial expression.

K: Who are you?

M: I thought that was supposed to be my question. You are the ones who attacked me and brought me here.

Kuwabara jumped immediately hearing her answer:

"WE attacked you? You are the one who attacked us for no reason and tried to kill our friend.

M: I TRIED TO KILL HIM? She was about to protest that she didn't have anything to do with it when she remembered the guy with the scar that was stalking her. _Well technically I did react impulsively when I saw a guy on the roof that was looking at me and I went to chase him but he attacked first. _

M: "Your so called friend has been stalking me since the morning and when I went to him to ask him nicely what the hell does he want, he attacked me and almost threw me of the fucking building."

The gang was surprised of her outburst. She misunderstood their question or at least she made it seem like she did. But Kuwabara was not buying it.

"Nice try lady but I saw YOU shooting the attack. I saw you how you blasted your energy full blown directly into my girlfriend."Kuwabara was almost screaming into her ear looking at her so close before Kurama but his hand on his shoulder forcing him to stay back.

Kurama turned his eyes to Hiei with a questioning look. "_She is telling the truth fox. Someone else was there before we arrived" _Hiei said the words in Kurama's mind letting him to continue.

K: Could you please explain us what happened?

Maemi was looking frozen at them with her eyes wide open. She understood it so well now. It was all a trap and she fell in it like stupid girl. She knew something was off about everything and she still decided to follow the guy. _They will not believe me. Everything is so perfectly staged_ _I have no way to prove someone else was there. Or maybe…_

She studied their faces explaining to them briefly that ever since the morning she feel someone was following her and how she finally saw him on top of the building and decided to confront him. She described his look and his fire sword and how she dodged his attacks. She mentioned everything in detail as much as she could remember. They could have made her repeat it all night and her answers will have still been the same, because it was the truth.

Kw: O please! She is clearly lying. The guy suddenly disappeared leaving her just at the right spot were the attack was shut. He grabbed the shirt from her collarbone and brought her close to him to look her in the eyes. "You are not fooling anyone" He thought he could at least make her pay for everything Yukina suffered but when she looked in her face, her eyes were confused and scared. She had nothing evil in her look.

Kurama and Yusuke stopped Kuwabara immediately. They were all irritated and tired so it was not surprising when Yusuke started to argue with Kuwabara that he should sit back and mind his own business. They started a whole discussion in the room ignoring her completely. Kurama, looked at Hiei who did not say anything until now, but he was fixing his gaze on the girl so intensely, that the fox knew something was wrong.

Maemi let them fight thinking of what he head has been hurting her for a while but now it was becoming unbearable. She wanted to think of a way to explain it to them how everything was done. She did not even have this sort of power. She was suspecting Kuwabara saw only the blast and then he saw her there and connected the two together. When everything happens in just a few seconds this type of thing was pretty normal. But her brain told her there was something else she had to remember. She felt her vision becoming dizzy and her body weak. She could not think anymore. Something was pushing her inside her mind to look for something. But another part of her did not want to. It felt like someone was opening all the drawers with memories from her mind and looks into them leaving a mess around.

Hiei started to read her mind since the moment she entered the room. He knew she was telling the truth but he saw also that the girl knew much more that she was letting them to see. He mind was blocking access to him and he was fighting to discover the hidden memories. He saw her everyday life. She was a mother of two children and she was living with her grandmother. Her memories were nothing out of ordinary and he could not even see her using her powers.

He wanted to discover what was hidden so he used his demon energy giving the Jagan more power but her mind was fighting him. If Hiei pushed her more he could have destroyed her but he was one step away to break the barrier in her mind.

Kurama understood what is happening to her. All of a sudden she lowered her head like she was fighting something in her mind. Maemi could not even talk anymore because of the pain and her eyes where shutting tightly while all her body was tense. She could not think. She wanted to fight this feeling so badly her arms were almost breaking the handcuffs she was put it. She was reaching her limit. Like a cornered animal fighting for survival with her last breath, she pushed him out of his mind completely kicking him out with all her spiritual power. She looked around seeing some glasses with water on the table and hearing the sound of the tap water in the kitchen.

It all happened in less than a second.

She conjured her energy in her hands and broke her handcuffs using the water from the glasses to attack them freezing them on the spot. The attack only froze their legs so she knew she only gained a few seconds before they escaped. She ran to the kitchen using her power to destroy the tap of Genkai's sink finally having a huge amount of water at her disposal. Hiei was still on the ground because her attack on his mind paralyzed him, the Jagan reacting violent hurting Hiei physically.

She was followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara but she froze them completely this time when they entered the kitchen. Thinking that the two of them can take her, Genkai and Kurama remained behind to check up on Hiei.

H: I will be fine fox. Go! She is hiding something.

Maemi did not wait for a second chance to escape. She froze the entrance of the room and blasted the windows of the Kitchen running deep into the forest with circles of water surrounding her like a shield. Kurama was quickly after her chasing her easily because of his fox powers. Her energy did not give away with anything but he could track her smell better than any dog.

Maemi was slowly coming into her senses again. The pain finally stopped and in her mind it was a complete silence. She did not know where to run though. She had no clue where she was and they were following her. "I wonder if I can hide somewhere" The forest was dark as the night and there was no moon to help her find her way. But this could have been in her advantage. She contemplated her options but before she could make up her mind he was already in front of her.

She weighted her options carefully thinking if she should try to fight him and escape for good. But where would she go. They could run faster than her and she could not fight them all once she was caught. She had nowhere to go for help. Furthermore, she was exhausted and hungry.

M: I knew this will happened. She sighted feeling tired all of a sudden and with no urge to fight.

K: You should have thought twice before you tried to escape.

M: I know. I never thought it will work. Maemi dropped all the water surrounding her holding her hands up as if she was being arrested by the police.

M: I did not do it you know. You probably won't believe me but your strange haired friend did not see me attacking her.

K: And why would I believe you instead of him? Kurama used one of his plants to bind her hands in front of her. The plant would absorb her energy and tighten every time she would try to release herself. The girl collaborated didn't do any move to object or try to release herself.

M: I don't know. If this was a police movie and I would have used a normal gun to shut her, you could have seen it was not me by looking at the angle of the hit and stuff like that. But this does not work with spirit energy I think.

K: That would be really hard to see." Kurama acknowledged but it did give him an idea to investigate. From Kuwabara's story he understood that Yukina was sitting on the bench with Shizuru and Keiko when she was hit by the blow. She was facing the building when she took the hit, but when Kurama arrived with the rest at the park, her wound was on her back. It could have been his imagination but he had to be sure.

K: Why did you do try to escape?

M: It's hard to explain. But for a second there I thought I was going to die. Something was attacking me in my head. You know the sensation when you get really close to a beehive and you hear all that noise inside. I felt like there were thousands of angry bees in my head and someone was killing them one by one with a hammer, hitting my brain in the process.

Kurama nodded understanding. This was Hiei's fault. The girl was unconsciously blocking his presence and he did not want to give up until he found out everything.

M: You look quite human. Have you ever killed anyone before?

Kurama nodded serious not wanting to go into detail.

M: Are you going to kill me as well after I answer your questions?

K: Perhaps, that largely depends on how you behave" He looked at her serious threatening her. You may not know it, but up until now we have been really giving you the royal treatment. But from now on this is going to change. Make one wrong move or say one single lie from now on, and I promise you will regret your decision for the rest of your life.

Maemi nodded being too scared to utter any words.

All this time he had studied the girl carefully. If the girl was lying she was a really good liar. Even a fox demon like him was almost fooled. But he still had many questions unanswered. He wondered why Yusuke and Kuwabara did not come yet. The ice trick could not have trapped them for long. They probably knew he already captured her so they did not bother to come anymore. _Or maybe something happened. _He did not feel anything weird in the area but his instincts told him to rush. They were not far so he took the girl in his arms and ran with her to the house arriving in less than five seconds.

The sensation made Maemi dizzy so when he put her down she found it hard to regain her balance. But then she felt it like a sharp pain in her throat.

M: Something is wrong! She did not know what it was but she could feel a strange energy inside the house. I think your friend is in trouble.


	6. A lovely reunion

**Author note: **This chapter twice as long compared with the others so I tried my best to make it easier to read. The chapter has a lot of dialogue so no matter how much I tried I could not find a way to split it into two chapters.

As you might have noticed I have published all the last three chapters at once. I have been spending the last 3 days writing and revising this story so please don't forget to review. I am really curious what you'll guys think about it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. **

**Enjoy XD!**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – A lovely reunion**

They rushed inside the house towards Yukina's room where he could feel all the energy was coming. Kurama told Maemi to wait outside entering the room but leaving the door open. In a glance he saw Yukina was bleeding again breathing heavily while Genkai was trying to heal her. She was agitated trying her best to fight the pain wanting to move. Kuwabara was holding her in his arms trying to calm her down but the girl kept moving trying to stand up.

"Please, don't…" she was finally able to make her voice heard but she still could not mutter the whole sentence.

Hiei was angry and irritated at the whole situation. When Yukina started to feel hurt he was the first to run to her room to see what happened. He grabbed his sister in his arms trying to calm her down but he was pushed away a second later by Kuwabara who was devastated to see his fiancé like this.

They all gave Kurama one look when he entered the room. He analyzed the situation and went immediately to bring some tea to Yukina to calm her down and put her to sleep. They did not understand why she was reacting like that.

Hiei on the other hand went outside the room the second he saw the girl was back putting his sword at her throat.

His Jagan was still hurting but he forced himself to enter her mind and read her thoughts. "Are you doing this? Maemi looked at him scared feeling the touch of his sharp blade on her throat. "ANSWER ME!"

M: nooo … I… I don't know what you are talking about.

Yusuke came quickly to Hiei grabbing his wrists to stop him from doing anything harsh. "Hiei you can't do this, don't forget she is human."

Kurama came quickly with the tea looking serious at Hiei as well. "Don't do it Hiei"

Hiei released her putting his sword back. "Don't worry fox; you know I have my ways to check on traitors. The onna is telling the truth. "He was going to release her even without them telling him but he still did not like something about the girl. He knew she had something to do with Yukina. "When his sister tried to speak her mind said "Please don't hurt her". How did Yukina know the girl was here? He did not wish to enter his sister's mind especially in that state so he attacked the girl to see how she will react.

Maemi did not know what to do. She wanted to help but at the same time she knew they will not let her do anything.

M: Is everything alright? I know it will be hard for you to trust me in this situation but if there anything I can do, please let me know. I have healing abilities.

Kurama answered before anyone else could protest.

K: we'll think about it.

He entered the room giving the tea to Yukina to calm her down being followed by Yusuke and Hiei. The fire demon did not let the girl go of his sight, nodding to her that she may enter as well. Maemi took a deep breath feeling the tension in the air the whole time. She did not want to be blamed for anything. Frankly speaking she did not even know what was going on. She followed them in the room looking at the girl that was lying on the bed but when she saw her face she froze on the spot.

She felt on her knees holding back her tears analyzing immediately the whole situation. _No! Why is Yukina here? How could they do this to her? So that's why I felt that huge pain on the roof. She was close to me and she was hurting. How could I have been so stupid not to realize this? She knows I was hurt. We were so close to each other she must have felt it. _She let a few tears drop squeezing her eyes tightly not wanting to cry in front of them. _I am so sorry sister. _

Everyone was surprised by the way she reacted. They knew she was still wounded so the majority thought it was probably the exhaustion and pain that made her fall on her knees. But Hiei knew everything. He did not understand why the girl called Yukina her sister but he knew Yukina knew her as well. He turned once again to his sister seeing she was sleeping calmly now, although Genkai still had a worried look on her face. He had to do something.

He took out his sword pointing it once again at Maemi, "If you try anything, I guarantee that you will beg me to kill you faster."

Kw: What the hell are you doing shorty?

Y: Hiei are you sure about this?

He ignored them cutting of the plants that were handcuffing her letting her go. Kurama understood that if Hiei took the initiative to free her in a room with his sister, he must have seen something to trust her. From all the people in the room, Hiei was the last one to do such gesture. The girl was innocent.

He stood up giving his hand to the girl that was still on her knees helping her to stand up. "You said you have healing powers, do you think you can help her."

Maemi looked at them surprised feeling grateful. She could not believe that the guy with the third eye trusted her. For some reason he was the one who scared her more than all the rest. But now he put his faith in her. They said his name was Hiei. She had to thank him later.

M: May I take a look at her?

Kw: Guys are we seriously gonna trust her to do this? Kuwabara could not believe it. Was he actually the only clever one in the whole room? How could they let the girl that brought Yukina in this condition heal her?

K: Don't worry Kuwabara we are here. I am almost sure she had nothing to do with anything, but Genkai and I will supervise anyway. We will know immediately if something is wrong.

Yusuke put his hand on Kuwabara shoulder reassuring him: "Don't worry buddy. Right now the most important is for Yukina to feel better. Let's trust Kurama and Hiei on this one."

Kuwabara still thought this was crazy but seeing as Yusuke and Genkai also agreed to the rest, he stood aside letting the girl to come closer and take a look.

Maemi sat next to Yukina taking the blanket of her. She had a big wound on her back but no other injuries beside that one. Her pulse was quite slow thought and her face was very pale.

M: You healed her immediately after the attack right?

G: I did and her wound was almost closed. But today it reopened again and I cannot close her.

M: When I look at her wound I feel a strange energy inside her body. I wonder if that is because you are healing her, or it is something else that prevents the healing.

G: I do not feel anything unusual.

Kw: I do! Everyone turn around to him surprised by his statement."I don't know how to explain it. It does not feel like anything in particular but at the same time I know it is there. "

Maemi nodded understanding. "I am going to try healing her"

H: Hmph, congratulations oaf. Just when I thought you can't get more stupid, you've once again surprised me. His statement did not make any sense, but the girl understood him anyway.

Kw: Watch it Shorty. I am so close to start kicking your ass.

H: I can wait to see you try. Kuwabara jumped to punch him, but Hiei dodged his fist so easily not even bothering to acknowledge his presence.

Kw: Stop moving you stupid shrimp. Let me kick your ass or face me like a man.

Y: Is nice to see you guys missed each other so much.

H: Jealous detective?

Y: Nea! Not at all. I always knew you two have a special relationship.

Kw: What did you say Urameshi? You're looking forward for a beating?

Maemi looked at them surprised turning to Kurama.

M: Is this normal or should we do something about it.

G: Just ignore them, their idiots.

What did you say! Yusuke and Kuwabara screamed both at the same time to Genkai. The old lady ignored them not bothering to answer them.

Maemi focused her healing energy in her hand using it on Yukina's wound. Her eyes were closed but she could clearly see what she was doing. Compared to Genkai's technique she was using the water in the body to treat the wound and to regenerate everything speeding up the process. It took her more over 20 minutes but when she was finished the wound looked completely healed. Even the scar was almost gone. _This feels familiar. I feel like I have seen this before but where?_

M: She should be able to rest now. Normally I would say she was completely healed but because of the energy I felt in her body I cannot guarantee that yet.

G: She seems to be fine now. Let's go out and let her sleep.

Kuwabara was reluctant to leave her alone but he was assured by Kurama that they would feel her immediately if something was wrong.

Hiei of course had his own means to check on his sister so he followed the rest in the living room.

* * *

Maemi was exhausted and hungry but she did not complain. It was still night outside but the sky was starting to brighten. _It must be around four or five in the morning. I wonder if everyone is ok . _She was so worried for her family. She could not even call them because of everything that happens. "_I am just going to answer whatever question they have and then hopefully I can leave. _

M: So! She turned around looking at Kurama and Hiei who were whispering behind her. Did I passed the test or are you going to kill me?

Y: yeah would you two lovely birds like to explain us what is going on.

Kw: You mean you too Urameshi do not know. Man and I thought I am the only stupid one left in the shadows.

H: hn at least the oaf finally admitted.

Kw: What did you say?

Kurama interrupted them not wanting to waste any more time than necessary.

K: Perhaps is better if I we all pay attention and clear this up once and for all. To answer your questions I think we have been set up and the girl is innocent. Hiei has been reading her mind during the whole time and confirmed that the girl has been telling the truth. Furthermore…

M: Wait YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN READING MY MIND? She interrupted him not believing what she just heard. "That means you knew from the beginning I am innocent and you still attacked me." She was definitely annoyed now.

H: It's not that simple onna, your mind is not as easy to read as you think. I needed you to be conscious.

M: well if you wanted me to be conscious you could have simply asked from the beginning "hey lady wait a second" instead of chasing me and stabbing me with a sword.

H: hn you should consider yourself lucky enough I did not kill you.

Maemi could not believe it. She could have been home right now. All he had to do was read her mind before he decided to capture her. She wasted all this time for nothing.

M: "I should consider myself lucky? Do you have any idea how much time we all lost because of this? Not to mention that some of us have school to go and A LIFE. She emphasized the last word feeling frustrated. And to think she was almost grateful to this guy. She sighed exhausted turning to Kurama whispering to him "You know your friend is not very bright"

Hiei took out his sword immediately pointing it at her throat with a really murderous look while Kuwabara and Yusuke were laughing at him. Kurama stopped him right away looking also at Maemi to let her know she crossed the limit.

K: The girl is just tired Hiei.

Maemi regretted her words at once not because he threatened her, but because she knew she acted a bit childish.

Hiei released his sword slowly without taking his eyes of her. He wanted to kill her so badly right now.

K: As I was saying, we know you were not the one who attacked our friend. However, what I don't understand is how you are involved in this situation. Do you know have any idea who your attacker is?

Maemi was wondering this as well. "I don't know, I don't think I've seen him. But when he attacked me he said "I was told you would be quite a challenge". Someone must have sent him after me. He seemed to know what my abilities are. Like I said before, I knew since the morning that I was being followed. But I only noticed him when he was on that building. It could also be my fault. I am not that observant when it comes to these things. But I think he really wanted me to be accused of attacking Yukina.

Y: hm do you guys think this has anything to do with what happens in Makai?

K: It is a possibility Yusuke. He was thinking of what the girl said and no matter how much he tried to connect the pieces, nothing made much sense. "When you attacked us and tried to escape your energy was very unusual. I have never seen something like that in human or demon world."

M: That is because I am not exactly from this human world. However I am a simple human." She did not know how many of them were demons, but she wanted to confirm to them that she was as normal as the rest of the people. "I never use my powers unless it's an emergency."

M: That is another thing I forgot to mention it would have been impossible for me to attack anyone because I am under strict regulations with the spirit world. They would have pretty much killed me by now.

Y: So the stinky breath knows about her! We should ask him what he thinks about this.

Kurama nodded telling Yusuke to call him later.

K: when did you come to this world?

M: I think it was eleven years ago.

Y: Wow that's around the time I became Spirit Detective.

M: Spirit detective?

Y: It's a long story. But why did you come here in the first place?

Maemi looked at them not feeling like talking about her past. She did not see how that was important. "Is that relevant?"

K: I am afraid it is.

She sighted exhausted answering his question. "Very well then. I come from another side of Makai where humans live hidden from the demons. My energy may seem strange to you but for our world this is very common. It's our way to protect ourselves against demons. My family was killed when I was young, but I managed to escape and came to this world. Unfortunately for you, my memories from my past life have been blocked so I don't remember anything in details." Her last sentence sounded irritated. She did not want to talk anything about this. She did not even know them.

K: Hiei could help you unlock them.

M: I much rather prefer he doesn't. It might sound strange but I am the one who chose to erase everything that happened. I do not wish to remember anything related to my past. Those memories are not necessary to me.

Everyone went silent. Hiei finally understood why he could not read those memories. The spell blocking them was too powerful to be penetrated from outside. If he ever wanted to see what's in there, she had to be willing to remember everything herself. Kurama was also thinking. They had hoped to find answers but they had now reached a death end.

M: However, I think I know why they attacked Yukina like this. They all looked at her surprised giving their maximum attention. The truth is Yukina is my sister

* * *

"I think you all know that she is a Korime. She comes from a village hidden somewhere in the demon world. I come from the same area so we grew up together. She was actually the one who raised me after my mother passed away so she is a very close person to me.

Hiei was surprised about that. He never heard this information about Yukina from anyone. But this also meant Yukina got hurt because of her.

H: hm so it is your fault after all

Maemi lowered her head not daring to look at them anymore. She knew that as well. They could not even imagine what Yukina meant to her. She wasn't just a sister, she was her family. She has been a mother, sister, teacher, best friend and confident to her for as long as she could remember. And now she has been hurt because her. She felt her tears coming but she did not let them fall down.

Her voice was trembling though when she spoke.

M: I never thought this could possibly happen. Only the king of the spirit world knows that she is here and knows what sort of relationship we had. And I doubt there are still people left alive back home who would remember her. Up to this day I never made a single contact with her, not even from the distance. So I don't see how they could have possible known.

K: When was the last time you saw Yukina?

M: When I was eleven, I think. That is …. She took a minute to think. "That was thirteen years ago. She does not know I am here in this world. When I left my home I went to a place far away from her, so she knew we might not ever see each other again. Also, when it comes to this night, I would prefer if you never mention anything about me to her. It will only bring her pain.

Kw: That is ridiculous. Kuwabara could not keep quiet anymore. After he left Yukina's room he tried not to say anything anymore and pay attention to the discussion. He felt like such a fool when he saw how everyone agreed to let the girl help Yukina. He knew he was the one who failed to protect her and what hurt the most was that he had acted like a fool and did not pay attention to what happened around him. He did not blame them for not telling him anything. He blamed himself for assuming that the girl was at fault.

There was still a part of him that refused to forgive her, but for the most part he was convinced of her innocence. He saw that the energy he felt in Yukina did not match the one the girl had. But what convinced him the most was hearing a discussion between Kurama, Hiei and Genkai. Yukina was hit from the back not the front and judging by the dimension of the wound, they suspected it was someone in her close range that did it. The girl was used as a decoy and he felt right into their trap. Now that he heard her story, he could not wait to tell Yukina that she is here and have them reunite each other. He knew she would be so happy especially with their wedding coming.

Kw: You have no idea what you are doing to her. Yukina found out her brother is death a few years ago and now you want us to keep quiet about you and go along with our lives like nothing happened. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT MUST MAKE HER FEEL? She has no one in this world.

Maemi sighted exasperated putting her hands in her head defeated. "_Patience Emi, lots and lots of patience"_.

M: She has you guys and considering how I have been threaded and almost lost my life like 20 times until now just because I supposedly hurt her, I am absolutely sure she will be ok.

Kw: That does not prove anything.

K: I think it will be the best to follow her advice Kuwabara. I think everyone agrees with me when we are saying that the situation is a bit unstable right now.

M: See at least he gets it. Think for a second will you. Look at how much danger she has been put through until now and she did not even know I am around. Do you want her to live in constant danger?

Kuwabara kept quiet understanding her point. But it still did not feel right to him when it came to Yukina. He did not know what to do.

Kw: But how do we know this was all because of her? You guys said that the Aizen dude warned you that someone will be after us. He said they might attack the people that we hold dear so that they will destroy us right?

K: I was thinking about that as well. So far the most likely scenario is that we have a common enemy that he tried to destroy us both. He turned to Maemi looking at her serious: "You probably know it, but you are not safe anymore. There is someone out there who is after you. :

M: I know. Don't worry about me, I will be fine. Just take care of Yukina and make sure you never mention anything about me. Just tell her it was a dream or something if she asks about me. She will forget about it.

Kw: I am still not sure about this and I don't want to lie to Yukina. I can't lie to her like that.

Maemi sighted exasperatedly, getting annoyed with him.

M: Listen to me tough guy, you and Yukina are together right? How long did it take you to convince her to be with you? Seeing how you are still at the dating stage I guess is been a thought battle for you until now.

Kw: So what if it took a while. My sweet Yukina is just very innocent.

M: Well before she came here your sweet Yukina almost got married with a very handsome and charming guy from my village. He was such a sweet guy. He would bring her Nighshades every day. It's one of her favorite flours you know and it's very rare and beautiful.

Kw: Nani?!

K: Kurama tried to hold his laugh when he heard the name of the floor. In Makai Nightshade was just a very common type of weed. But Kuwabara certainly did not know that.

M: He really made an impression on her. So listen up" She went to him grabbing his shirt until he pulled his face close to her looking him serious in the eyes." If you ever talk to her that I was her, or mention anything about me, or even hint, or whisper or slip anything I have just said that might somehow make her think about me, I am gonna make sure I will bring my lovely friend with me then next time I have a sweet reunion with her. Then we will see how good you are at getting the girl."

Kuwabara nodded retreating from her scared whispering to Yusuke. "Don't you guys think she sounded like the shrimp just now?"

Yusuke could not hold his laugh anymore petting Kuwabara on his shoulder. "This is what you get when you argue with women buddy. Trust me it could have been much worse" The rest smiled at him seeing how the girl's lie was already affecting him. He was the only one to believe her because he always thought Yukina was so beautiful and perfect that she deserved much better.

Maemi looked at the window seeing that it was already light outside. The sun had just risen and she wanted to go home as fast as possible

M: Do you have any more questions? It's already morning and I really have to go home now.

Kurama looked at the rest seeing that no one else had anything to ask.

K: I think everything is clear for now.

Y: Man it's already morning. Yusuke yawn stretching himself a little bit to wake up his body. I am so tired already. I need to go home as well. Keiko sounded quite worried and annoyed when I talked to her. Do you have work today Kurama?

K: Yes, I do, but I can go in the afternoon.

* * *

Maemi was already thinking about everything that happened. When she left her home in the morning she did not feel anything suspicious. The feeling that she was being watched came only in the train so she did not know if the people knew where she lived. But if they had the time to set up this trap, they probably knew everything about her. But how did they find out. No one even knew she was in this world. Most of the people probably thought her death back home so how did this happen.

One thing was clear thought. She had to disappear once again. "I hope everything is alright". She was so worried for her family. She had to leave immediately.

M: Has anyone seen my bag? She had it with her before she was brought here.

Genkai nodded taking her to the room where her back was. She found her stuff on the bed outside her back. _Of course they had to check inside my back. _She didn't really like the idea but she had nothing to hide anyway, just a notebook and her application folder from school, together with her wallet and her phone.

In her back there was also a map with of Japan so she opened the map and asked Genkai for direction to know where she was. _This place is really, really far._

_G_: Is everything alright girl?

M: Yes, it's just that I've heard nothing from my children since yesterday. I am just a bit worried that's all.

G: You should ask one of the boys to take you home.

M: Do they have a car?

G: Genkai smiled at her question: "Even better"

M: oo can I maybe use the bathroom? Genkai pointed her to a door leaving her alone.

She went in the living room where the boys were discussing the plan. Since the whole situation was quite unclear they were considering if they should all move to Genkai and stay together until the criminals were caught. At least in this way they would be able to keep everyone safe.

Yusuke didn't think it will be that hard to convince Keiko to close the restaurant for a while. After they married, they followed Keiko's parents' example and open a restaurant in another part of the city. Surprisingly Yusuke was quite a good cook and with a few tips from Mr. Yukimura their business became quite popular. On top of that Keiko was also working as an English translator occasionally, taking projects from different international companies. She used to work a lot in the first years before they bought the house, but after their second child was born, she decided to focus more on the family and to help her husband with the restaurant.

Kurama on the other hand did not have the luxury to take the time off. After he finished the university he decided to open his own business following the example of his step-father. He worked for him quite frequently during his university years, so when he started on his own he already had a lot of experience. The problem was that right now he was working on a big project for a multinational company. They were big clients and it was their busiest season, so he had to find a way to finish as fast as possible. He decided he will remain in the city for now to keep an eye on his parents and finish everything. He would of course be in touch with them if anything happened.

Needless to say, Kuwabara was going to stay here with Yukina. So when Genkai found them they well all pondering what should they do about the girl. Hiei already knew what was going to happen when they all turned to him.

K: Hiei, do you think you can follow the girl and make sure she is safe. I have feeling that whoever our enemy is, he won't let her escape so easily.

H: hn I knew you were going to say that. Hiei already decided to keep track on her even before he was asked. If those people used her to attack Yukina, they were definitely going to come again for her, and when they did he would make them pay for what they did to his sister.

G: Since we agreed to that, you should also take the girl home. She lives in the Kyosaki village.

H: "hn, why can't the onna get there herself?"

* * *

Genkai ignored him looking at Maemi who just returned in the room. Her hair was brushed, braided and tied in bow just like she was when they had captured her. She had healed her wound and washed her shirt to clear the stain of blood that was showing. The advantage of being a water witch was that she could absorb the water out of her clothes and dry it instantly.

Maemi handed Genkai and Kuwabara a paper with her phone number to contact her in case Yukina was not healing.

Kw: Your name is Anna?

M: Yep, that's how they call me. She had changed her name when she came to live in this world. "I thought you already knew that from when you checked my stuff. "

Y: Actually the old hag over here was the one that checked your bag.

G: Watch what you're saying dimwit. Demon lord or not I can still kick your ass.

Y: oo yeah…

Maemi interrupted them not wanting to waste any more time. "Well I will just go now. It was an interesting experience to meet you all but now it's time to say goodbye.

Y: Oo so you are not staying for breakfast?

M: No, thank you.

Y: well then, see you around. Hiei will take you home. Yusuke pointed at the fire demon, but Hiei vanished from the room leaving her wonder. She raised her eyebrows questioning not really understanding, but she decided not to ask anymore. _O well I guess I will find out. _

She put her shoes on, waving them goodbye walking out of the temple. She went towards the stairs wanting to run to the bus station but her feet stopped when she saw Hiei leaning by the three in front of her.

M: So?

He went in front of the girl turning with his back to her lowering himself down so she could climb on him.

_I need to get on his back? That's what they meant by a ride?_ She knew he could run really fast but she was still not sure about all this. _ This is so awkward. I don't want to. _

H: You have three seconds to get on women, or I guarantee that your free ride home will not be pleasant.

She quickly visualized herself being carried on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, before she got on his back with no complains. He did not tell her to hold on tight, but when he started to run, she immediately buried her face into his back, squeezing on to him. He was definitely fast.

The ride was awkward and it made her feel dizzy. She would have liked to say it was pleasant but the whole time she was tense and quite scared of him. They arrived to her house in less than half an hour, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was going to find.


	7. The answers you seek

**Chapter 6 – The answers you seek**

The room was too silent. Kurama was buried in his thoughts ever since Hiei and the girl left. They were all having their breakfast at the table, with the exception of Kuwabara who did not feel like eating. The memories of their previous encounter with girl were on everyone's mind. Everything happened to soon as if someone already knew they will not be there to protect Yukina. Kurama wondered how big was the connection between the events that happened and Aizen's warnings about the danger they were all in.

He did not trust the new king. Aizen was a strong S class demon but his energy and fighting style were more than unusual and his so called revenge story was to suspicious to bluntly believe in it. Based on what he and Maemi said, the world beyond the barrier in Makai was only lived by humans, yet this new king claimed that he had lived there and ruled as a general, even though he was now clearly a demon.

Kurama did not exclude the possibility that Aizen turned himself into a demon, but there wasn't any known spell in Makai able to accomplish such a transformation and to give him the power of an S class. He had to go back to the demon world and investigate further. Aizen was definitely keeping secrets from them, so he could not afford to wait casually in the human world, and hide from an unknown danger.

Kurama was too cautions to dismiss the possibility of the danger Aizen warned them about without taking preventive measures so that none of his friends will get hurt. He wondered at first if it was wise to send the girl away and to not keep her prisoner any more while the enemy was after them. He still did not fully understand what was her role in the entire story and what could the enemy gain by using her like that.

As much as he was inclined to believe in her innocence, there was still a small chance that the girl was tricking them the entire time to get close to their group. Hiei could not fully access her mind because of the spell that was blocking her memories, so how could they know for sure that she was telling the truth and that her memories were not altered to prove her innocence? His mind kept thinking of what Kuwabara said when they asked him about the attack. Even before the interrogation, he claimed that he saw the girl from the distance shooting a ray of energy towards Yukina. It could be that Kuwabara's imagination placed the guilt on the girl because she was the only one on top of the building, but what if it wasn't. Kurama needed more answers.

He finished his meal looking at the table in front of him noticing for the first time how quiet the atmosphere was. Normally Yusuke and Genkai would have argued about something just to release the tension but none of them said a word the whole morning.

K: It seems all of us are lost in deep thought today. Is there something wrong?

G: Don't look at me; it's the moron over there that had a fight with his girlfriend.

Kurama rose his eyebrow questioning. Was there something he missed during the evening?

Y: Shut it grandma, Keiko and I just had an argument. What's the big deal?

Now Kurama was paying attention. He was surprised he did not notice until now that Keiko and Shizuru would have normally been here. Both of them were really close friends to Yukina. When the attack happened, Kurama had carried Shizuru on his back to Genkai's house while Keiko was on Yusuke's, but the girls stayed just to make sure Yukina will be fine and then they quickly left to catch the latest train. He vaguely remembered that Shizuru had to work on night shift last night and that Kuwabara mentioned she had called to check up on them, but what happened to Keiko? She had to go back to take the children from her parents, but that was the last he heard from her.

K: Is everything alright Yusuke? You seem awfully quiet today. Maybe there's a way we can help?

Y: Neah that's ok Kurama. It's just the usual stuff. Keiko did not take very well the whole "me-going-to-fight-in-the-Demon-tournament-and-coming-back-to-let-her-know-that-someone-is-trying-to-kill-us" thing and she blames me for running again into problems.

Kurama nodded understanding the situation. It was not easy for Keiko to have a husband like Yusuke, but she had always accepted him for who he was, forgiving his slacking behavior. Their quarrels and disagreements were just a sign that they cared for each other, so he knew Yusuke had nothing to worry about.

K: I am sure Keiko was just upset because she has been worried for you. She will forgive you in a couple of days. Are you going after her?

Y: Yeah, I will feel better if I knew all of them were safe. After everything that went on with Yukina, I am quite worried that something might happen to them.

G: I guess I should enjoy the silence while I can. Once those two big-mouthed brats of yours start leaving here, I won't find a moment of peace in the whole damn house.

Y: You sound like a nagging old lady, don't tell me you just want to sleep all day Grandma,

G: I am old you fool.

Y: Yeah yeah… You look as good as always to me. You guys think it was a good idea to let Hiei go alone with the girl?

K: I am afraid I share your concerns as well. I warned Hiei that this might be a trap to catch him and asked him to let us know if anything happened. He will contact me once he arrives at her house. It should not take him that long. In the mean time I would like to call Koenma and see what he can tell us about the girl.

Y: I was just going to ask about that. The girl said she was under strict regulations from the spirit world. The stinky breath must definitely know something about it.

Kurama used the communicator he had from the spirit world, calling the direct line to Koenma's office waiting for him to answer.

"I was not expecting you to call so soon, Kurama. My team is still working to find the strange energies that we detected a few days ago. Did anything happen?

"Yukina was attacked just as we were coming back from the Demon world."

Koenma was startled almost spilling his drink on the papers next to him.

"What? I had no reports about this happening. You should have told me sooner. Is she alright?

"She is fine for now. We have healed all her wounds and she is currently sleeping. "

Koenma was relieved. He did not expect anything to happen so soon, but someone looked clearly to catch them off guard.

"Did you catch the culprits?"

"We caught a girl which was the most likely suspect. She did have a strange energy and her powers were more different than anything I have ever seen. Her name is Kitamura Anna and she had claimed that she is under strict regulations with the spirit world. Can you give us all the information you have about her?

Koenma looked immediately through the files but he found no one with her name on the list of the prisoners. She is not here so I have to look more into it. I will call you back once I have all the information that you need.

Kurama thought it was strange that Koenma did not find the girl in his database. "There is a possibility that her name might just be an alias she uses in the human world. She claimed that she came to leave in our human world about eleven years ago. Surely there must be some records about that. She had an ID card and she was about to enroll in the University here in the day we found her.

Koenma made note of all the given information, asking the ogres to immediately look into all the files. He was surprised he did not remember anything about that. His life was not that eventful in general to make him forget about such a significant affair. He closed the communication returning to his work still thinking about it.

* * *

The forest was unusually quiet as they were reaching Maemi's town. The Kyosaki village was a retired place hidden in hills of the Tohoku Region. Its area was wide extending for more than thirty miles to the north and being dominated by forest and rice crops. The houses were rare and widespread across the land and compared to the city, the neighbors lived much further away from each other. Maemi's house was up the hill, hidden by the trees of the forest. It was the perfect hiding spot for her to spend her days in peace, but also a really isolated place to reach in case an emergency happened.

The ominous feeling that something was wrong troubled her since she entered the valley. There were no birds chirping in the trees, no crickets, bugs or flies buzzing in the background and not even a single noise of wind blowing through the leafs. The trees were grieving in a deathly silence. All she could hear were the sounds of Hiei's steps echoing louder than the usual.

Her heart tightened as she reached her house. The old traditional Japanese building was burned completely to the ground living now only the ruins of what she once called home for so many years. She did not say anything, but the sadness she felt in her heart was graved on her face. She looked at what was left of the walls of the house walking inside to see if there was anything left from her possessions.

Maemi did not own many valuable things and she cared very little for the trivial objects she had lost such as her clothes and books. There was only one thing precious to her that she had carefully buried in a hidden compartment under the cemented floor of her house. The small basement was concealed by the wooden parquet, but whoever ravaged the place had enough time to find it and steal it. Maemi looked for it anyway even thought the open entrance of the hideout warned her that it was already gone.

Inside the secret basement she found an old medicine bottle and a jewellery box where she was keeping her rare medicinal herbs but the family heirloom and her most precious treasure was gone. Her heart felt strangely empty seeing it disappeared, like she had just unconsciously lost a part of herself.

H: "Found anything interesting onna?" Hiei had been studying the girl the entire time. She did not react as surprised as he expected her. Her whole house was destroyed but she quickly rushed to check a certain place which made Hiei wonder how valuable was the object she lost.

M: "More like lost something; they stole an old sword that I had from my father"

Hiei was intrigued. Their enemies attacked and destroyed her house just so they could get a sword. His experienced eyes could see that the place was searched thoroughly before they decided to burn it to the ground. But the oddest thing was that the sword was taken in the exact same day that the girl was captured by his team. The smell of smoke and ashes was still in the air which meant the fire happened during the night and it was extinguished by unnatural force. There were no signs of water or sand or anything that would suggest that the house was left to burn until the humans extinguished it. _Why would they leave the evidence like that? _

H: Why was the sword so important onna?

M: I don't know. The sword was passed down from generations to my family but I've never thought someone would go to so much trouble for it. Its stealth was very rare and of the highest quality, but is that a good reason for someone to steal it like this?

The fire demon wandered the same but he kept quiet. The human girl proved to be more useless that he expected. He was beginning to wonder if she was faking ignorance or she was just plain stupid and didn't have a clue about anything. Hiei was fighting the urge to invade her mind again and break the barrier completely this time when something else occurred to him:

H: Where is your family? The girl claimed that she was worried for her family but no one else was here and she was not even concerned about it.

M: They are not here." The answer was stupid. The fire demon could see very well that no one was here, but that still did not answer his question. He waited for the explanation to continue, but the girl simply started packing some stuff in her back ignoring him completely. His patience was wearing thin. This was one of the rare occasions Hiei wished Kurama was there. He started to pounder why did he let this arrogant worthless human women live this long and why in the seven hells did he promise to protect her.

Her mind was as blank and useless as she was. There was nothing in her mind about the family she has been so worried about an hour ago. Was she blocking him on purpose?

His hand was already impatiently resting on the grip of the sword when he felt the spiritual energies surrounding them. Someone was coming for them.

* * *

Kurama was visiting his mother when he received Koenma's call. He excused himself to go to the restroom before he answered the communicator.

The prince of the spirit world yelled at him impatient: "What took you so long?"

"I apologize for my delay. Did you find anything?"

"We'll talk about that later. My father just sent the SDF to capture the girl. They will probably be there any second." Kurama frowned maintaining his calm. He could see why Koenma was so agitated. His relationship with his father hasn't been that good ever since the prince disobeyed his orders to kill Yusuke.

"I see. Why do they want to capture her?"

"I couldn't find that out. To tell you the truth we are still investigating about the girl. When I confronted my father about this issue and told him the girl is in your possession, he said this is a matter I should not be concerned with. He did mention though that the girl is now an enemy of the spirit world and that she has committed a terrible crime. "

This stirred Kurama's curiosity. What kind of crime could it be that the King would choose to deal with it personally and why would he refuse to say anything to Koenma?

"He did not mention anything about the crime?" Kurama questioned. "I am afraid it is really important for us to know exactly what she did."

Koenma found the incident strange as well. "I am also curious about all of this. I am already looking into it but as the situation is now, we do not have much time left before they'll take her. "

Kurama was more worried about a certain fire demon. Hiei was not the type to let go of his pray, especially since the girl was the key to catch the criminals that hurt his sister.

"Is the girl with you now Kurama?"

"Actually, Hiei took her home less than an hour ago."

"WHAT?" The price looked at Kurama incredulously making him clarify.

" We have come to the conclusion that she was more or less innocent, regarding Yukina's attack but we are still investigating the connection she has with all of this. "

"So Hiei will be alone with the SDF when they'll come to take the girl? I do not like how that sounds"

Kurama agreed with him although he did trust the fire demon to make the right judgment. "I am sure we have nothing to worry about. I will go talk to him now. "

Koenma nodded still thinking about the entire situation. "I will call when I have the information. "

Kurama closed the communicator trying to reach Hiei telepathically.

* * *

Hiei heard Kurama's voice just as they were being surrounded by the SDF team. The fire demon had become one of the most powerful S class demons in Makai in the past years, so he eyed them disdainfully and annoyed, expecting to be approached with caution and fear, knowing that they did not stand a chance.

"_What is it fox?" _

_"__It appears that the king of the spirit world just send his defence force after the girl"_ "_Hn you are too late with the news fox, they are already here"_

_"__Did you find anything new about the girl Hiei? It appears that king Enma is trying to capture her, but Koenma could not tell me what she is blamed for. I wonder if it has anything to do with Yukina"_

_"__I will find out soon enough"_

Hiei maintained his grip on the sword as the leader of the group approached him:

"What do you want?"

"I apologize my lord, but we have been assigned to arrest that girl" Hiei measured him with scornful eyes half content that he was being addressed by his Makai honorific.

"Why?"

"I am afraid we are not allowed to disclose confidential information" In other circumstances such a response would have determined Hiei to immediately unleash his sword and attack the person in front of him, but the expressions of the leader, as he said those words, was so superior and sure of himself that even Hiei was taken aback by such impertinence. The effect only lasted a second but that second was enough for the girl to speak up.

"I'll go"

Hiei exploded. The girl's voice was so unexpected, so unpleasantly unwelcomed in that moment, that when Hiei unleashed his sword to threaten the leader he immediately redirected his attack towards Maemi, glaring at her so fiercely and angry that Maemi froze instantly swallowing all her words.

Maemi has been expecting them to come after her ever since she used her powers to attack Hiei and the rest and Genkai's house. However, when she saw how they SDF looked at her and Hiei, she thought something was off about the whole setting. The SDF were all there surrounding them; even though the spirit world knew she have could never defeated a single one of them. She would have kept quiet to see what Hiei would do, but the whole set up was so suspicious that she wondered if they were truly there just to capture her. A foreboding thought came to her mind when the captain replied to Hiei and before she realized what she was doing she spoke, accepting to go with them.

If Kurama would have been with them, he would have noticed the worried and unsure look some members of the team had when the girl spoke. And he would have noticed the displeased smile of the captain that turned quickly into satisfaction, when Hiei unleashed his sword and aimed it at the girl's throat. Maemi's intuition was right. Something was wrong, but the fire demon was too enraged to notice. He wanted his answers.

"The girl is my prisoner. So unless you give me a bloody good reason for why you are capturing her, she _REMAINS_ with me." He emphasized the word knowing that none of them will dare to oppose him. The fire demon knew that a confrontation with the SDF would make him an enemy of the spirit world and thus more difficult to visit his sister, but he was too furious and outraged by the behaviour of the captain to succumb to them without a fight.

His demonic aura was already showing making Maemi shiver when he spoke, pointing his sword towards the captain:

"Last chance. WHY do you want her? "

What happened next was too fast for Maemi to comprehend. All she saw were the shadows of Hiei and the SDF team engaging in a fight, before she felt a strong and unbelievably dark energy unleashed into the air and coming towards her. Her body reacted instinctively forming a shield to defend her and for a second she felt that time stopped and she could finally see what was happening around her.

Hiei was unconscious on the ground trapped in some weird energy prison and a dark aura in the shape of a dragon was surrounding the area burning everything it touched. The dragon seemed lost looking for a victim, before he directed himself towards her and Maemi felt the sharpest pain electrocuting her body. The attack only lasted a second but it was enough to penetrate through her shield and knock her on the ground. She was unconscious. Her lifeless body was sitting hundreds of meters away from the battle, paralysed from the attack. Maemi was dying. She vaguely felt a familiar scent and some strong arms carrying her before her mind turned completely dark.


	8. The Forest of the lost souls

**Hello everyone.**

**First of all I want to apologize to all for taking so long to publish the next chapter. I have been away for a mini holiday and now my school has started so it will take a little longer to publish the chapters. For now I hope you will all enjoy this one. Let me know what you think about it. I expect that the action will get more exciting in the following chapters, not only in general but also between Hiei and Maemi. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu yu Hakusho.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7 – The forest of the lost souls**

The cave reeked with the smell of blood. They were hiding in the Demon world, in a cave deep into the _Forests of the lost souls_. The sky was dark and the fog was so tick in the forest that Hiei could have cut through with his sword. In the distance, silent cries were echoing making a noise so frightening and disturbing that even Hiei had chills down his spine. Yet he still chose to come to this ominous place as its hideout. The fire demon was unsure why he chose such ill-fated place but it was the perfect spot to conceal them and wait for his energy to recharge. He was exhausted, but his body was too tense to fall asleep. The girl was sleeping next to him and he could see that her wounds were slowly healing themselves.

But his mind was too trapped in the previous events to allow himself to dose of. His body was wounded but his pride suffered the most after the crushing defeat he just suffered. Hiei did not have an honorable battle. They had carefully planned every single move, to do this to him and he fell right into their trap. He was angry. His blood was boiling with the desire for revenge. He did not care about the consequences; all he could think was how he would kill every single one of those spirit world bastards that had the courage to mess with him.

The events of the previous battle replayed in his mind as if he was fighting it again. He remembered how Rinbai, Otake and two new members had formed a circle around him while Hiei was threatening their captain demanding answers. He had seen them then but the fire demon paid no attention to them. He knew he could easily take them. Three other SDF members staid in the back watching the discussion but none of them were familiar to Hiei. All of them wore different black uniforms with various shades of red on their belts. Their costumes had a phoenix sigma on their shoulders with a writing that could only be found in the demon world, but Hiei cared little about fashion and deemed these details insignificant back then.

He had been too furious to care about their petty little lives and all he had wanted was to get his answers. His instincts still told him that they had something to do with the attack on his sister. The girl had admitted that only king Enma knew about her and Yukina, and the fire demon had made sure to keep secret the knowledge about his sister. Besides Mukuro and his friends, the only people who knew about Yukina were Koenma and the spirit world.

Moreover, Hiei had not been able to read the mind of any of the SDF people. Everything was as if they knew his powers and attacks and they had prepared in advance to counter his every move. Hiei admitted now he should have seen through their act. He had been foolish.

They tried to provoke him knowing that he had to hold back and he could not use his full power against them. Hiei never thought he would need his full power to defeat them but when he jumped to attack something else happen.

Twenty of them appeared out of nowhere assaulting him with their blasts of spiritual power. They had made sure to keep their energy undetected so that the fire demon won't know they were there. Their energy surrounded Hiei like an electric prison trying to trap him. He fought them dodging their attacks and making his way through their blasts and punches. Four of them were unconscious before he was completely trapped in the prison of energy. He tried to escape, but with every struggle his demon energy was being absorbed, pushing Hiei to the ground.

The fire demon did not give up. He refused to succumb so easily to them. He gathered all his spiritual power in one attack feeling the dragon pulsating in his hand wanting to be released. He focused his power towards the prison of energy surrounding him, intending to destroy it but just as he released his Dragon of the Darkness Flame, the shield of energy trapping him vanished. Hiei arms and legs were bound by the same energy paralyzing him while his arm fired the dragon letting him fly openly into the air uncontrolled and looking for a target.

A sound next to him stopped his trail of thoughts diverting his attention to the girl lying on the floor. Her body turned on one side, facing Hiei now and continuing to sleep. Her right hand was on her growling stomach and her eyebrows were frowning as if she was in pain. He studied her dirty face directing all his anger towards her.

She was the root of all his problems. Hiei couldn't believe he was the one who admitted she is innocent. He had even been that stupid to release the girl at Genkai's house in a moment of weakness and concern for his sister. But the girl had been nothing but trouble. He had only known her for two days and she already destroyed his life and everything he hold dear. He couldn't stand her anymore.

The fire demon grabbed his sword looking one more time at her pained expression, before he left the cave and lost himself into the foggy night. His speed was slow and he could not use his Jagan anymore, but he knew his surroundings well enough to find his own way out of the forest. Hiei knew that the girl will continue to sleep for at least another day, judging by the depleted level of her energy. She needed time to let her body heal itself and even after she woke up, she would still not be strong enough to find her way out of here. He gazed in the distance thinking of his home in Alaric.

He did not need to hide. He wasn't just anyone. He was a powerful demon and Mukuro's heir. _But how far will I make it with my energy like this. I am worse that a stupid weakling human. _He thought of the unconscious girl and of her bleeding open he left now the woman would just die there with no one able to find her. _She deserves it after what she did to me. This is all her fault! _He was angry at her and everything around him.

The portal he took from the human world was not that far from the forest but the place was ill-omened and so well known for his bad reputation that not even the boarding patrols were coming to this area. Even the strongest demons died in this forest in suspicious circumstances so there was no chance that the woman will survive that. _I could just live her there to rot. _

A noise in the bush made him grab on his sword and slash the wild animals in front of him. He looked at the lifeless small birds he had just killed feeling empowered. Her life was in his hands. It had always been in his hand. With the sudden loss of his powers, Hiei found the though comforting.

He had made his decision.

* * *

The ground still smelled like ashes. Kurama had spent the last nine hours looking for his fire demon friend in Makai and now he was back to the crime scene looking for clues. The events of that day shocked not only him but the entire demon world. The rumors spread faster than the wind in the civilized areas of Makai. Stories of a battle between the lord of Alaric and the king of the spirit world or how Hiei murdered single handedly all the SDF and the ruler of the spirit world have spread in all the cities of the three kingdoms.

The tales were rich in details about the battles but none of them seem to guide Kurama any closer to the truth. Others rumored that the fire demon was defeated and captured by the spirit world and that everything else was a lie to avoid a direct war with Alaric and the demon world. The fox knew that every story had its seed of truth but after hearing the lies and suppositions of the demons for the whole day, he decided to return to the scene of the battle and investigate everything again.

Kurama was surprised that the Demon world knew this much about the battle. Someone had an interest to keep the spirits agitated and Kurama had his suspicion about the instigators. He had been trying to contact his friend the whole day but none of his methods reached him.

Hiei's communicator was found at the place of the attack and his tracks had stopped hundreds of meters away from the area. Kurama had suspected that there has been a portal in the vicinity, but no matter how much he and Yusuke checked the place, they did not find anything. Someone had had an interest to erase Hiei's tracks and the fox started to suspect King Enma had something to do with it.

The scandal exploded since Hiei's disappearance. The official story of the spirit world was that the fire demon attacked the SDF and killed four of their members living the rest of them gravely wounded. Kurama saw their bodies. The all had the characteristic traces of blade and fire that reminded him of a certain fire demon. Together with Yusuke and Mukuro, he investigated for hours looking for any sign of proof that someone else was at fault. But their wounds were so specific and similar to Hiei's fighting style that even Kurama was partially convinced. All the clues pointed exactly towards Hiei and the fox was not able to find a single reason to doubt it. But he could not believe that his friend would be capable to use his full power and to attack the SDF with no mercy.

All of them knew Hiei could be a bit hot- headed and tempered when someone provoked him but none thought him capable of killing them in such a way, especially knowing the consequences. Not even Mukuro could believe it, even after she had been shown the recording of the battle. She refused to accept the spirit world story just like that. She was asked to aid and to cooperate with them to capture the fire demon, but she politely declined to participate.

However, she still sent all her troops to search for him before the spirit world found him. Kurama continued to investigate on his own. However, he did tell Mukuro about Anna and that she was with Hiei and she might have something to do with the incident. The fox knew that Mukuro would have higher chances to find the girl with her army in case she escaped by herself.

Kurama did not want to disclose all the details about Anna. But seeing how he needed Mukuro's help and she demanded to know exactly what happened to her heir, he told her the general details about the girl, starting with Yukina's attack and finishing with the mention that the spirit world was after her when the incident happened.

Now the fox was tired. He had returned to the same place the attack happened to look one more time at the surroundings. The first time he had been there, the whole area was burned by the fire, but now the spirit world restored everything back as it has previously been. The villages suspected nothing and their memories about the previous morning were blurry and confusing. They all knew Anna's house burned but none of them remembered seeing a fire. He did not have time to ask the villagers about Anna and he hoped the spirit world did not erase their previous memories about the girl. He looked at the scene was again thinking at the tape he had seen with the recording of the attack. He had studied that tape so much that he could play it in his mind and yet he could not find a single thing wrong.

But there was something that occurred to him when he went to bed this morning. He investigated all the surroundings that seemed to have a trace of Hiei, but he did not look at anything else. There were various spots that he ignored to search due to the lack of time and the rush to find his friend. Thinking back to the tape he realized he could not see what the girl did while the attack was happening. At the beginning it all look like she was just watching the confrontation scared while Hiei was talking to the captain. But where exactly was she when Hiei killed those people.

Most of the traces of her were lost already as the spirit world already fixed everything. His fox nose could still feel a faint trace of her smell in the air but it was so hard to track that he just spend his time looking around for clues trying to reconstitute the girl's route. But when he found nothing he took a different approach. He planted the seed of a rare hunter plant from Makai letting it grow until the plant looked like it detected something. Its lianas started to grow and spread across the field moving like snakes in the grass looking for traces of blood. The fox followed its tray seeing that it leaded exactly to where the corpses of the SDF were found and were the other members were wounded. But there was one new direction the plant was spreading towards.

Kurama feed her its energy until it became powerful enough to extend its vines across the forest but the lianas were all leading to one direction, hundreds of meters away from the battle. The fox felt it, looking down at the strange items he just found. The smell of the girl and her blood were in that place and on the grass. He could see someone had tried to wash it. The grass was wet, as if it just recently rained but the smell was still there. _There was no rain last night in this area so someone must have been here recently trying to hide this place. Everywhere else is dry except here. They must have rushed to cover their tracks last time before we came. Now that I think about it, I did not have time to look there. Koenma summoned us to question the SDF members in the hospital and find out everything that happened. _

The fox found a strange package on the ground just a meter away from the place. It was a small bag with a symbol on him and some a rare type of herb that only grew in Makai. The bag smelled of ashes and blood. Kurama understood that the girl was deeply wounded in the battle and transported all the way there by a powerful attack but this still did not answer any of his question. Could this have been the reason why Hiei killed the members? Kurama did not think this was the reason. He stood up feeling someone's presence nearby looking at him.

"They killed that poor girl didn't they? "And this is all that's left of her."

* * *

Maemi woke up from the smell of smoke in the air. She did not know how much time it had passed. Her body was feeling numb and more tired than ever, but what surprised her most was the image of the fire demon sitting next to her.

"Hiei?" He was lying on the floor, a few meters away from the girl with his eyes closed and his back supported by the wall.

In front of her the fire was cooking some sort of birds that reminded her of chickens. Her stomach growled. She couldn't remember the last time she ate. She felt weak and her body was numb.

Her voice had been as quiet as a whisper. She did not recognize the place and the air was heavy and harder to breathe. She tried to get up but a sudden dizziness took over her body and fogged her vision for a few seconds. She felt like fainting but she pushed herself to get up, using her arms to support herself until she was able to properly sit on the floor.

Maemi was already breathing heavily from the effort but Hiei made no effort to acknowledge her presence. She knew he was not sleeping.

"Where are we?"

"Demon World" His voice betrayed no emotion. He answered short with his eyes still closed, refusing to look at her.

Hiei was in no mood for her chattering and her endless questions. He was surprised the girl woke up so early. He expected her to sleep at least a couple more days, but the girl's healing powers surpassed his expectations.

The fire demon knew Maemi will ask about the battle and everything that happened. He had intended to question her about the spirit world and everything else she hid from him. But now he felt suddenly too irritated to talk to her. He thought he had managed to calm his anger in the past hours but all his emotions came back to him at once, the moment he felt the girl walking up. _I need her alive if I want to get my revenge._

Maemi remained quiet after hearing his answer. _Demon world… I have never thought I will return here again. When was the last time I have been here? It has been so long. _She did not know what she felt about it. She suddenly felt scared as if her mind refused to remember. _No I must not think about anything. I will think about it tomorrow, not today. The past is not important. I have to stay focused or I will lose my mind._

She heard a sudden scream in the distance looking at the threes outside the cave. It was as if someone was being tortured and begging for mercy and for a second she thought the voice might be familiar. _I must stay focused. _She was frightened and her body was frozen. Somewhere in the distance her mind told her to not succumb to fear. _There is nothing to be afraid. _But the place scared her nonetheless. Something dark was out there in the distance frightening her.

Hiei knew the girl will begin to interrogate him after her initial shock was over. Yet as he waited there preparing himself to ignore her, no sound came from the girl any more. She was not moving. They sat there in silence for several moments until curiosity took over of him and he opened his eyes to see what she was doing.

"What are you doing onna?"

Maemi was frozen with her eyes wide opened looking towards the exit deep into the forest. He did not understand what she was looking at. He tried reading her mind but his Jagan refused to cooperate and remained closed. Hiei hated this. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this weak and with his energy so low.

The girl was scared. He could see the fear in her eyes, but something about her position told him that she still stood strong. Her fists were hold tight as if she was ready to fight and she quickly regained her composure when he saw him looking at her.

"Nothing" Maemi stared at Hiei confused and lost in her thoughts. He had expected her to say something but the girl did not say anything any more turning her attention to the fire. Hiei looked into the forest noticing the strange noises in the distance. Someone was screaming. The forest gave amazing healing abilities to anyone who was strong enough to stay in it, but it fed on the negative emotions of the demons and humans. When Hiei had the power of his Jagan, this place had never affected him. He knew everything was just a mind control theatre set up by some low class demons. They fed on the dark emotions of the people such as fear, anger, depression or sadness. The fire demon thought himself strong enough to not be affected by the mind tricks of the forest, but he forgot to consider the effects this place will have on the human girl.

He took a stick from the fire with one of the birds he had roasted and threw it on the ground in front of Maemi.

"Eat"

Maemi was surprised by his gesture picking it up without complaining.

"Thank you" She smiled at him sincerely taking a small bite out of the meat. Her body was starving. She was sure she would have devoured the bird in a few seconds if Hiei wouldn't have looked at her so intensely. But the fire demon studied her every more making her feel uncomfortable so she ate it like a lady, taking small bites and chewing it slowly looking away from him. _ What is his problem? He is been staring at me ever since I spoke with him._ The food was the best thing she had ever had. She approached the fire carefully looking at Hiei to see what he will do. Although he offered her food, she could not shake the feeling that he wanted her death for some reason.

"Can I have another one?"

"They are yours" He turned his gaze away as he said that looking at the forest with the hand on his sword.

"You are not eating?"

"Quiet!" Hiei stood up grabbing his sword, focusing his eyes on the cave entrance. Something was coming towards them.

"We have company." He looked at the girl with a threatening stare freezing her on the spot. "Stay here and do not move. And don't even think about leaving this place. "

Maemi nodded unconsciously being hypnotized by his intense red eyes that were focused on her. Something in her mind told her she had seen these eyes before but before she had time to think he saw Hiei getting moving away from her getting ready to leave. She grabbed his arm stopping from disappearing looking at him determined.

"I could help you"

"Hn, you are not even capable of helping yourself." He felt the presence getting closer and closer pulling his arm away pointing his sword at her.

"You will stay here! His voice gave no room to oppose him. Maemi nodded watching him vanishing in the air.

She was alone now. The room became even more silent than before and she felt the fear and sadness' overcoming her. She felt weak. She could barely move and the pain in her body was numbing her senses, but she knew she could fight if she had to. Hiei was a powerful demon, Maemi knew that. But she had the feeling something was changed about him since she woke up. His energy was very low, and his reactions were much slower than normal. She would not have been able to stop him in normal circumstances.

_I hope he will be alright. _Even though she did not know the demon very well, she was still worried for him. She looked at her wounds contemplating whether she should go after him, or not. _Hiei is right. I cannot fight in these conditions, and there is no water around that I could use to defend myself. But maybe I could find some water nearby. _

A rustling sound of leaves attracted Maemi's attention towards the forest putting her on guard. _There is someone here._ A thunderous laugh ranged in her ears as a foggy wind entered the cave and put of the fire, leaving her in complete darkness.

"Who knew the demon would be so stupid to leave the human alone. " He commented bursting again into his deafening laugh making the girl cover her ears.

Maemi leaned her back on the wall walking slowly towards the exit. Outside a full moon was shinning bright, but the forest was still completely dark. She looked around trying to identify were the voice came from, getting ready to attack. But the demon stopped as soon as she exited the cave, leaving her in complete silence. Maemi closed her eyes listening to the sounds of the forest. Her body was tense and ready to fight. The adrenaline had made her forget all the pain. She stood there in silence waiting for his first move.

Maemi was patient. The demon stayed a few minutes waiting for the girl to lose her concentration. When he noticed the girl made no move at all, he jumped at her, using his sharp tail to smash her from behind. Maemi dodged his attack using all the speed she had and before he could move any further she fired a dozen of ice shards at him. He successfully missed all her attacks engaging in a battle with her trying to bring her down.

Maemi could see him now. He looked like a three meters tall scorpion demon with a human head and a weird looking face. The frightening fog surrounding them which blinded her earlier was in now her advantage. Even though her body was weak, she figured out she could try to control the water from the fog and use it to attack the demon. The move clearly surprised him but he was faster than her. He proceeded to attack her again spitting some acid looking green substance at her that melted everything it touched. Maemi dodged his attacks for several minutes trying to counter his moves, but her body was clearly weakening. She needed time to heal herself and he was not giving her any second to rest. Running away from him was not an option either. She tried to lose herself in the dark forest, but the deeper she entered this unknown demon territory the weaker she felt. Her heart was beating fast and she could barely breathe any longer.

_Ok Emi, Think. I can't afford to die in this stupid smelly rat hole of a forest. He knows every corner of this area so I have to get creative. _

She jumped in the three, hiding herself among the branches while the demon was getting closer. Maemi used her powers to fire an attack a few meters away from her hideout, distracting his attention towards another direction. The demon seemed to fall on her trap. All she needed was that second of distraction to do a sneak attack on him.

_Now is my chance. _She gathered the water in her palm turning it into an ice shard, firing it at the monster. The arrow flew at him like lightning bold, piercing his body. But before she had time to celebrate her success, something else trapped her arms and legs making her unable to move. Two huge spiders of her size were sitting in the threes at her right and left side, immobilizing her in the air with their webs. Maemi struggled trying to release herself but the spider webs clung to her even harder sticking to her skin.

The thunderous laugh rang again in her ears:

"There is no use in trying to escape human. The harder your struggle the stronger it will bind into you. Before you know it, they will absorb every little blood you have in that weakling body of yours."

Maemi looked up understanding of whom he was referring to. Around her an army of huge spiders was surrounding her together with other strange demons with weird human faces. All of them had three or more eyes that reminded her of a certain fire demon, but they looked nothing close to Hiei. She kept trying to escape from its trap, but she soon understood what he meant. The web was binding tighter and tighter into her hands until she could not feel her blood circulating any more. Her body became so tired that she could not move any more and Maemi found herself missing a certain fire demon.

_Hiei, where are you? _

* * *

Kurama looked at the old man in front of him who was clearly a demon. He looked like old man slowly walking in a cane towards him holding a box in his hand, but he felt his demon presence a second ago. The fox was not surprised. They were millions of demons living peacefully in human world disguised as normal humans, but the fact that he appeared like that and claimed to know the girl stirred Kurama's curiosity. _He said that "they killed the girl" what did he mean by it?_

"Who killed her? "

The old man looked at him tired and confused as if he just woke up from a dream.

"Are you talking to me young man? My old years are not as they used to be. You are asking about my cat? Those damn kids murdered my angel girl, I just know it. "He looked at Kurama angry all of a sudden starting to talk nonsense about the young generation and how mosquitos are terrible this season. Yet Kurama could not get his previous statement out of his mind.

"I am afraid I have misheard you. I though you are talking about a friend of mine. Do you know a girl name Anna, she used to live in the house up the hill but it appears the whole place burned down. "

The old man appeared to clear his ears with his fingers looking as if he did not hear the question. He asked Kurama to repeat everything a few times coming closer and closer to him until he bumped into the fox demon. Kurama thought he felt the old man slipped something into his pockets but he repeated his question was again louder into his ears.

" Aaaa Anna, I remember that girl. She is an impatient old brat but she makes a lovely green tea. Have you seen her around? I was just on my way to her. Have you seen my cat young man? If you ever find it I live in the house down the hill next to the bakery. "

Kurama was not sure what to think but when he felt the paper in his pocket he knew there was something going on. He left on his way looking around to see if he was followed taking out a map brochure of his pocket together with the paper.

_We are being followed. The forest has ears. Meet me in Makai at this address. And don't tell anyone about it. _

Kurama did not know what to think about it. It could be a trap and he was not the one to be easily fooled. If he was being followed he had a way to know it. He touched the three using his spiritual energy to connect to all the plants that he left in the forest looking for any sign of human or demon for miles and miles away. There was indeed someone. He was hiding his energy but Kurama saw him. He vanished away the moment he felt Kurama's demon powers but he was not fast enough. Kurama ran after him. This was his chance to get some answers. He chased him for a mile catching up to him but maintaining the distance.

It could have all been a trap. After everything that happened to them the fox demon knew he had to be cautious. He did not have any advantage, and he knew nothing about his victim. He looked at his surroundings thinking that he was alone same as Hiei was last time and as much as he wanted to trap the person, he did not chase him any more. This could have all been a carefully designed plan to destroy them one by one. But there was one thing they have underestimated about him. A fox always knew how to outsmart and hunt his prey. If they wanted to trap him, he was ready to turn the tables around.


End file.
